Evaluation

My role:

At the beginning of this module I was very focused on getting the best outcome for myself. In previous modules I have taken on big roles like editor and producer and although I enjoy these roles, I wanted to have a more relaxed role in the magazine module for a number of reasons: I didn’t feel as comfortable with writing and print as I did with broadcast and wanted to polish up my core skills such as interviewing, researching and writing, I also knew this semester would be stressful as we have other modules ongoing that are very important but don’t have a lot of time (ie. Research Project) and I know if I would have put too much stress on myself, I would not have been able to complete my work to the best of my ability. 

I was given the role of politics desk editor and was happy with this, it was a good amount of responsibility but without the necessary stress of being in charge of everything and everyone. My role was to ensure the people writing stories within my section completed them in time and to a good standard. I knew constantly harassing people in lectures would make for a hostile environment the closer it got to the deadline and so I instead just casually chatted and looked at the stories in my sections to keep up with how the were getting on.

However, this can only be done when people are in lectures and therefore I sent emails to the people in my sections who’s articles I hadn’t seen. I feel I was effective in my role as I didn’t put too much pressure on my classmates but work was still completed to a high standard.

I also sub-edited multiple pieces of work which I really enjoyed as it not only helped the magazine to be of a good standard, but furthered my knowledge of magazine industry practices and general style rules.

Design and contribution:

I really enjoyed the design element of this module and feel my in-Design skills have grown massively since it started. As a result of this I feel I have created a good magazine spread and contributed to the design of the front cover which I am very pleased with and the decision making process involved in that. 

 This is the original design which Lucy and I did. The basis of the design was created by Lucy and then I added the necessary extras such as the information in the corner, the logo outline and the stories that would be featured in the magazine.

When deciding which stories to include on the cover, I conferred with Robyn and we decided to use the stories which had the catchiest or more controversial titles (sex workers and vegans for fur) as well as the ones which had specific appeal to our target demographic (house buying guide and music venues.) 

I felt deciding which stories went on the front cover was a very important role as that is essentially what would encourage people to pick up and read the magazine.

Although this was not the final design, I helped make some decisions for the cover, including which picture was used and the stories that would be featured. The design process for the front cover was at times tedious as everyone had different opinions and wanted different things for the cover so the most important thing I learnt from being involved in this process was not to take people’s opinions to heart and separate my feelings about the work I had produced from the opinions people were giving and instead acknowledge and understand the critiques.

Further progress on designs:

    

Teamwork:

As well as the physical contribution to the magazine, I feel I worked very effectively within the team when making decisions as well as throughout production; I subbed people’s articles, helped where I could with any design questions or advice and contributed to the overall ideas and decisions made within the magazine. I regularly attended both design and editorial lectures and have built a strong knowledge on how the magazine industry operates and builds businesses, as well as how to write better editorial and the design process which goes into creating a magazine.