What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I have gained more experience in using Adobe Photoshop and using a blog to record research on the music press and to document the process of making a music magazine. I have also used desktop publishing software such as Pages which I used to set out the magazine’s feature article. In using software specifically designed for Apple computers, I have learned how to save my work in a format that would allow documents to be opened on both PCs and Macs. On my blog, I used Slideshare to upload a Power Point presentation and Scribd to present a PDF file to show information in a more dynamic way.

Uploading and downloading files

I used dafont.com to download fonts for my cover and feature pages. The sans serif fonts reflect a sense of modern sophistication which I felt fit in with my layout design, also.Using SlideShare, I was able to upload Power Point presentations on the evaluation questions.

Using Pages

• In the process of making the product, I learned how to use a desktop publishing program, Pages. It was necessary to use this type of technology as it is specifically designed to be used in making publications, and other software I used in the production lacked the features it has, for instance the ability to create columns for text.

Using Photoshop

• I created the magazine front cover, contents page and images in the feature using Photoshop. Although I already have used it, I learnt some techniques such as creating shadows for text and images.

Looking back at your preliminary task, of designing the front page of a school magazine, what do you feel you

have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Comparison of covers

Whereas the preliminary task cover only uses one font, the full product cover uses a main font and a different one for the feature story.The photography in the final product is also more suited to its purpose. The lack of objects makes the text more legible.The full product also incorporates more magazine conventions, such as the issue number and date.