Looking at newspaper front covers it immediately became aware I needed to create a masthead that would feature throughout my project. Seen in my previous research of The Epigram and Varsity, they use a masthead consistently throughout each issue of their newspaper and in their website so the audience can relate it to their product. Looking at both The Epigram and Varsity I saw that they each identified a colour scheme for their front cover. As my newspaper would be distributed around Essex, I chose to have the colour scheme red, the colour that represents Essex. My masthead is similar Varsity in the fact the masthead contains a box out for added attraction. Each newspaper also featured a brief subheading about the newspaper such as 'Bristol University's Independent Student Newspaper'. I felt this was needed to emphasise the area in question, therefore used a sub heading, 'Essex's Leading Student Newspaper'.
This is my masthead, compared to Epigram which is featured throughout my blog in research. The individual
font used separates newspapers, as well as the use of different colour.
From this research I also found that front cover typically contained 2 articles. I wanted to include 3, as I felt that 2 was not enough and that space could be arranged more wisely. I also chose to take my own approach with the amount of pictures featured, as the researched newspapers only contained one, backing up the main article.
My website follows many conventions of researched ones, containing tabs, pictures, and aspects such as logo's for following the paper on social networking sites such as twitter. My poster also reflects typical posters, containing short snappy headlines to entice the audience into buying the newspaper.
I feel the combination of my main project and ancillary tasks has been very good, as I have kept a theme and a motif running throughout. The colour red has been used frequently throughout my newspaper, website and poster, ensuring the audience is relating the colour to my particular product, and the area being mentioned. The 'BIG STEPS' logo, as seen above, is clearly seen in each task, showing they are all related. I initially began using red and black dots in my newspaper as I saw most newspapers used thin lines. I intended to produce something which looked visually appealing and fun, as well as unique. Therefore I began using dots to separate articles in my newspaper. This continued in my poster as I began using bigger dots as a contrasting background for text, still in keeping with my colour scheme. As these are used in all my media, this would enable audiences to clearly establish they are all different forms of media of the same product.
Through my audience feedback I became aware of effects I had used that had positively added to the overall look of my products, and what I could have done to improve them. I chose to let people pick 3 points about one of my tasks that they liked or disliked, but did not limit how much or what they could say. I chose not to do a questionnaire, as I wanted the validity of peoples personal opinions, instead of them simply choosing a box that was close to their views. I have learnt that having a ongoing theme and colour is extremely effective in attracting the audience and showing the relation to each task. The dots became a frequent part of my project, but I was unaware whether this would have been as effective as I'd hoped. From people's feedback I was relieved to find it was a good point of my project, adding an element of fun and attracting my target audience. The feedback also made me think about my audience. From my feedback you can see that even older and younger people were visually attracted to my product, but some immediate text discouraged them.
Throughout this process I have used a great deal of media technology in order to complete my project successfully. One of my aims as I was beginning this project was to improve my skills in photoshop, and an increased use of this software proved to help this. I also used InDesign and Dreamweaver a great deal in creating my website and newspaper. I used photoshop to create my poster, in which many photoshop effects can be seen. Brush strokes have been used to add effect to a simple white background, then effects such as outer glows. InDesign enabled to be create my newspaper accurately. I found this software easy to handle. During my planning stages I used photoshop as I needed to practice and test out effects that could be used in my practical task.
The first media technology I began using was the internet, initially setting up a blogger site. The internet was used to view newspaper front covers, then to be annotated, this research was also carried out when i began thinking about my ancillary projects. The next technology I had to use was a digital camera, in order to take my own pictures for my newspaper. Without this technology I wouldn't have been able to complete this, and the use of a good quality camera enabled the images to look better. I again used the internet and newspaper when it came to evaluating my products, where comparing final products helped me see what improvements I could make.
I feel I have created a newspaper relevant to both the purpose and audience of it. I am pleased with the results of my ancillary tasks as I feel they combine with my newspaper and are obviously linked. Given more time, or the oppertunity to do this project again I would choose to involve more sketches and drawings in my planning, however I feel I have worked on my target of posting work more regularly, and using photoshop more.
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