Project Management and Monitoring Production – 24/02/12

This week was the final week we had to complete our projects before the deadline, which is today. I have therefore spent my time this week making changes to my product to make it look more professional, and more aesthetically pleasing. In order to do this, I have invited comments from both my assessors and my peers, so that I have a better idea of what I needed to change. I have managed to meet the deadline, and my product has been handed in.

I have been working on all four parts of my product this week. Firstly, I felt that my front cover looked a bit cramped in terms of sell lines etc. I therefore changed the size of some of the sell lines, and in particular the main sell line, so that I could move the other sell lines around in order to fit better on the front cover. I also changed the console sell line, to one which suited the magazine better. In addition, effects such as drop shadows and inner glows have been added to give the page more depth.

On the contents page, I have standardised the font, so that the page looks consistent throughout. I have also added small features which make the contents page more engaging. For example, I have added red corners to each feature story to make it stand out more. I also used a brush to seperate the bottom half of the page as there was too much space before, and it made the page harder to follow.

I have also made various changes to the double page spreads.This has involved making sure that various elements on the double page spreads are lined up properly, and so that they are not wonky. For example, on the tablet article, I made sure the boxes which had the text in were the same size, and also that they were the same distance apart. Similarly, I lined up the 'p' ratings, so that the double page spread was professional. I also changed the position of the boxes on the page, as there was too much space on the pages before, which made the article difficult to read. In addition, I have added a kicker to introduce the readers to the article.

In terms of the DPS with the headphones and iPhone article, I have made little changes to it, apart from adding branding to it e.g. 'www.plugged.com / headphones'. I have also changed some of the fonts to make it easier to read.

Overall, I feel that this project has been a success, but looking back, I wish I had asked for audience feedback before the deadline, so that I could have made improvements to them. Despite this, I am still quite pleased with the outcome, and hope that it suits the needs of the client. I believe that I have managed my time efficiently, however I could have spent more time out of lessons, improving the graphic design of my products.