My Evaluation - 7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

From looking at my preliminary task I feel that I have learnt a great deal of knowledge to do with not only creating magazines but on what I believe in. When I finally decided on who I was going to aim my magazine at I started researching many different magazines that are aimed for young girls. When I realised the connotations of some of the headlines of the articles I was astonished. The media clearly use very indecent play on words that the innocence youth of today do not understand. For example pictured right is Top of the Pops  this is a young girls pop music magazine. And the main story is ‘In bed with JLS’. I think this sums up what I mean by indecent play on words! When I was younger I use to be a consumer of these magazines and a victim of the offensive phrases that are now used for the younger generation. I now have had my eyes opened on how the minds of minors are exploited by the media and I now hold very strong views on what is appropriate and inappropriate for young boys and girls to witness.

Compared to my audience for my preliminary task I didn’t have to do any research on them I just knew that they were students, teachers and parents. But with my actual magazine I had to research into what colours my audience would like, what typography they like, what type of additional incentives they’d like, what type of music they listened too etc. Because I researched my intended audience in more detail it allowed me to contrast a more focused and more appropriate mode of address. I now value good questionnaires and believe that my qualitative and quantitative data has made a major difference comparing my preliminary task and my main task.

By analysing existing magazines I have gained knowledge about what magazines are the ‘norms’ of magazine and what codes and conventions work well with each other. I have also gained technical skills that have developed with the practise I have been undergoing. Before this project I didn’t know my way around a publisher document, know I feel confident in using publisher.