PRELIMINARY TASK EVALUATION AND ANALYSIS

 For the preliminary task we made a magazine for our school. The task only consisted of two pages, onebeing the front page and one being the contents page. This task has enabled me to start looking at possible ideas, techniques and conventions which can be typically seen and used in a magazine. To begin with, I established what my magazine will look like and be called.

 The colours I have used are red, black and white. I had chosen these colours as they are aesthetically appealing, contrast from each other and and a simple yet bold impact to my publication. Also I feel that these colours suit the target audience which are 11-15 year old males and females. I feel it appeals to them as the colours are not dominated by one gender, and can easily be favourited by either gender. The title of my publication is called 'Bitesize Burghley'. I feel this is ideal not only does it feature alliteration, but it is simple, snappy and to the point. The word 'Bitesize' depicts the whole point of the magazine, where it is not overwhelmed with stories, however just brief news bites, which will appeal to the target audience as it isn't long, dull or boring. The strapline of my publication is "Because Burghleys' need to know.". This will appeal to my target audience as it is focused directly at them. This therefore makes them feel involved with the publication and a stable relationship is built between the reader and publication.
 Next, I incorporpoated my ideas with a design. I designed my initial idea roughly, before advancing onto the computers where I would then transfer my rough ideas onto Photoshop. Firstly, I used the text tool to lay out where I wanted to place the text. While doing so, I adjusted the font so it wasn't too serious, but not too playful so it looked neither unprofessional nor too childish, otherwise it wouldn't appeal to my target audiences' age group.
 After this I then took some images to fit for my contents and cover page. This meant any images I needed had to be purposely posed, which the text then anchored. Before I could work on my images I had to import them to my desktop, which required me to go onto the iPhoto application and simply importing from the camera so the files were now on my desktop. From there, I simply picked images I would be using for my cover and contents page.
 My main image (for the cover) is of a girl pointing at the camera (i.e. the potential reader) and the girl is looking directly into the camera also. This creates a connection between the reader which makes them feel part of the magazine, which would make them want to look at it more. Also, the accompanying text states, "I want change...do YOU? It's all about...YOUR LIFE." I adjusted the text so it varied at the words YOU and YOUR LIFE, as not only does it add more dimension to the image, it adds an eye catching word i.e. a pronoun, which will make the audience feel like they're talking directly at them, which altogether adds appeal to the publication. Also, I added contrast to the image to make the image more bold and appealing.

This is the original image.

This is the manipulated image.

This is the image with the anchored text on the cover.