CCR Question #3 Draft

3.) How did your productions skills develop through this project? 

Before starting this project, I had a small amount of knowledge on what goes into creating a magazine. I had never really thought about the process. Though, after getting this far, I am considering magazine development as a possible future career because of the amount of knowledge I had and have gained that I didn't realize went into magazine development. 

A major component of magazine design is using programs like Photoshop and InDesign. I experimented in InDesign because I had never used it before. I learned many skills, such as how to insert images and formatting text. I decided to use Photoshop to create my magazine because I have been using the program for around 4 years, as well as become certified in the program. Even with all the knowledge going into the project, I still came out with even more skills in the program. A major part of creating my magazine was working with fonts. I did a lot of experimentation with font style and design. I learned many different ways to use fonts, not only in the program, but how to use them in magazine design. Your choice of font can change the whole page. I used Photoshop to create all aspects of my magazine, from the flat plan to the article pages. Another program I used was Blogger. This was used to present everything I have done for this project. I had never used this program before. I can say now that I have become very proficient in the program. 

Before I started designing my magazine, I had to do extensive research on other magazines to get inspiration to see how I can make mine look as professional as others. I was taking notes on the layout of the pages, the styles and fonts used, the history/accomplishments of the magazine, and more. I also learned about the marketing and distribution of magazines. This is another part of the process that I had never thought about. When creating my distribution plan, I had to think about so many little details, such as what aisle will my magazine be in or what kind of stores I want it sold at. 


I chose to do a photography magazine because I have a lot of knowledge is this field, as well. I have been doing photography for around 4 years. Since we had to use our own photographs in the magazine, I figured this would be the best way to show my skills and be able to connect it with the text. Also, I already had knowledge on using the camera settings, so that really helping during the photo shoots. Contacting and working with models, scheduling photo shoots, and scouting out locations are all thing I have done before too. This really helped with the time management aspect of the project. 


I have definitely learned many new skills in all the programs I have used, as well as skills in magazine development. Overall, I am very satisfied with what I have created.