College Magazine - Audience Feedback and Evaluation

Audience Feedback: What went well? - From the comments on my previous blog post, I received some positive feedback from a few of my classmates. One of them mentioned how they liked the cover photo as it looked professional and it was good quality and mentioned that the font went well with the cover photo. Another classmate said that my front cover included all the main requirements needed and that the style and mise en scene of the front cover works well. I mainly got positive comments on the photography and the cover page.

Self-Evaluation: What went well? - For me, what went well was the photography, even though I took the pictures on my phone it still came out good since the models look natural and you can see everything clearly. I created a skyline accurately and the skyline is linked to the college theme. I have included a barcode, cover lines, a masthead, a puff, the price and the date of the issue. These are main requirements in any magazine not just music and I think I did them effectively however there could be improvements. I made the masthead stand out by using effects and tools on PhotoShop; this shows the importance that the masthead has.  The spaces on the cover page were used effectively and I didn't leave it blank apart from a few places as I didn't know what to place there. I like how the cover lines are bold which contrasts against the photo.  Personally, I think that the cover page is better than the contents page.

The contents page is alright looking since I have included a few pictures that all link to education and sports and I have included page numbers alongside the titles of the page. A classmate commented that the contents page has an interesting layout but I could have included more. The contents page is simple and straightforward unlike most magazine.

Audience Feedback: What do I need to improve on? - From the comments on my blog post, I have received some constructive criticism on what I should have done by my classmates.  For example, one of them said that I should have spaced out the cover lines and have more college related cover lines but they also said that for the contents page, I should have spaced the photos out neatly so that there wouldn't be any empty space and use different colours instead of black and white. Although, another classmate said I should have linked the content page to the front cover. 

Self-Evaluation: What do I need to improve on? -I agree with the feedback from the classmates and I need to improve on how to make a better looking contents page since that was my weak point. I didn't know how to structure it and what to add. I could have used different colours instead of black and white. I could have used pull quotes, drop caps and columns to make it look realistic and be effective. I have a lot to improve on.

Key points for development - One thing that could have been developed was the photographs. Even though, I created some good quality photos on my phone camera, it would have looked more professional and better quality if I used a professional camera. Another thing that could have been developed is the structure of my contents page, this is because It looks too simple and nothing like a music magazine contents page, as it wasn't lively at all. Last thing that could have been developed was the cover page. Personally, I think that the cover page was good , however the cover liens were a bit squashed and I didn't create an effective looking puff. Overall, the college magazine practise has helped me improve a bit of my skills but has notified me on what I need to do to improve when I make my real music magazine cover.