6) From the process of creating my magazine, I have learnt several things about technologies. For the construction of the magazine itself, I used the software Adobe Photoshop.

- I learnt how to use the ‘lasso’ tool to cut out parts of images and copy them onto another image.

- I learnt how to cut out irrelevant parts of an image through the use of the ‘crop’ tool

- Another skill that I learnt is how to use the ‘gradient’ tool to add special effects to my font/background to make it look more attractive.

- The online storage space that I used was www.slidshare.com

- This website was used to upload all of the files I created on Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Word, onto my blog.

- Through constructing my product, I learnt how to use a blog. The website that I used was www.blogspot.com

On my blog I had learnt several skills:

- I learn how to add images onto my blog

- I also learnt how to add links

7) Looking back at my preliminary task, I have learnt many additional skills through constructing my final product.

As you can see, my preliminary front cover is very simple. I used a plain background which is light purple. The masthead is also in a simple format. It is a plain black font. The image is positioned to the side of the cover lines, which does not effectively grab the audience’s attention. I have only included four cover lines, and there is lot of empty space on the page.

On the other hand, my final product is much more complex and much more effective. For the background, I used the gradient tool on Photoshop to create a faded effect. The black fades into white as it goes down the page. I also used the gradient tool on my masthead. For my masthead, I used a big bold font. Simply due to the size of the font, it immediately grabs the audience’s attention. I also used the gradient tool to create a faded effect. The red slowly fade into black. I also used the stroke tool to create a black outline around the text.

The positioning of my main image was also more effective. Positioning the image in the centre, with cover lines on either side helps to make the image the centre of attention. Due to the size of the image it takes up the majority of the page, which makes the front cover even more effective.

The cover lines on my final product look more attractive, firstly due to the fact that there are more cover lines being used. This makes the front cover more informative as it gives the viewer a taste of what is going to be in the magazine, and this makes the reader want to read on. For my cover lines, I alternated between a red and a black font. I used this colour scheme throughout my magazine as it increases the attractiveness of the magazine. I also used the stroke tool on photo shop to outline my letters, also in an alternating red/black colour.

My final product also looks more professional compared to my preliminary as I had added the additional conventions of a typical hiphop magazine. These include a barcode, a date, a puff and a freebie. For my magazine I decided to use a CD as my freebie as I found out through my research that the most popular choice for a freebie was a CD.

Through The construction of my contents page, I have also leant several new skills. Firstly I added images to my contents page, which I didn’t to my preliminary task. This helps to make the contents page visually more appealing. I also learned that an editor’s note makes the contents page more effective, as a personal message from the editor makes it a more personal experience for the reader. I also included a quote from a featured artist. This is another typical convention of a hip hop magazine as makes the viewer eager to read on.

Through the construction of my double page spread, I learnt how to wrap text around an image. This is done through the use of ‘paths’ on Photoshop. I used the ‘lighting effects’ feature to create a glow around my images. This makes the image stand out against the black background.