6.) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Displaying work using online forum

1.  I used slideshare to show how I constructed each of my products. This was my first time using it but I found it to be relatively easy. Using Microsoft Word I created the work and then displayed on this online forum. I felt that this wasn’t the best software I have used as the work isn’t presented as clearly or professional looking as other sites.
2. Prezi was one of the most complicated websites and as I had never used it before I decided to watch a few YouTube tutorials to get to grips with it. After I had mastered the basics, I loved using it because it displayed my work so well with so many different backgrounds and effects, and you can access it from any computer with a Wi-Fi connection. I used it for my first and last evaluation questions.
3. I used Issuu to display my ‘Locations, props and models report’, ‘NME Music magazine analysis’ and second evaluation question. This was relatively simple software. Using Microsoft Word I created the piece and then uploaded the document to the website. However once work is uploaded it is difficult to change it like you can do with Prezi but it did look professional on my Blog.
4. I had most knowledge and experience of using YouTube so this was the easiest website to use. I looked up some Prezi tutorials, watched short clips on what subcultures there are in the UK and will upload an evaluation question answer in the form of a filmed interview.
5. Flipsnack was easy software to use because I simply uploaded my pictures then added text to annotate. One difficulty with using it was that I found when you were laying out the work on edit mode, it displayed quite differently when you presented it so I had to keep going backwards and forwards to present it effectively. I used this website more than any other because it was brilliant to display my work in a flipping book. My three ‘textual analysis’ pieces, ‘target audience survey analysis’, ‘mood boards’ and ‘product drafts’ for my drawn and Photoshop were all displayed using flipsnack.
6. Photoshop was another piece of software that I had no previous experience with. I first used it during a practice session in class to learn the basics and then downloaded a thirty-day free trial at home to develop my skills away from class. My preliminary task was created using it and, as you can see, my skills had greatly improved between then and my next use which was my real task of creating three music magazine products. I fell in love with this software because once you get used to the different tools it is a brilliant way of creating good quality work. I also used it to create my Photoshop-made drafts, mood boards, media kit and the pictures of the brands above.

More on Photoshop ~ Layer Styles

• I used ‘Bevel & Emboss’ to give my text more shape as it made some parts appear to be standing out compared to others. The two parts of it were ‘Contour’ and ‘Texture’.
• ‘Contour’ was used to give the shape the outline, darker lines within each letter to give it the bold effect.
• ‘Texture’ did what it suggests – gave the shape texture.
• I used the ‘Stroke’ effect on most of my text because it gave it an outline (of any colour but I mainly used black) to help it to stand out on the page.
• I used ‘Inner Shadow’ to make the middle of the letter appear sunken in.
• ‘Inner Glow’ did the opposite to this – it made the inner appear to be higher than the rest.
• ‘Satin’ makes the letter seem shiner; I rarely used it because I felt it couldn’t be seen on small text.
• ‘Colour Overlay’ was really useful because it allowed the letter to look more colourful and bright after using many effects that don’t do this, such as ‘Inner Shadow’.
• I didn’t use ‘Gradient Overlay’ or ‘Pattern Overlay’ because I didn’t like the messy effect they created.
• I did use ‘Outer Glow’ however because it made some of my text stand out, as if a torch was being shone behind it, giving it a Hollywood effect.
• ‘Drop Shadow’ was also very useful because it made my product seem less flat and more 3D.

It is also possible to create shapes, for example I made a vinyl record among various others for my products.

Using free online forums to display work

Advantages	Disadvantages
You can display work in intricate and different ways	It doesn’t always show work professionally
It is free to use, distribute, and modify so you can display it on a Blog	The college Wi-Fi connection is weak so you can’t always access them
You can use it anywhere that you have Wi-Fi	If it crashes you have to wait until it is running again
It is secure content and available to anyone to use or view	Many of them require you to use Google Chrome because you can’t upload photos on Internet explorer and this isn’t always available to users
Users don’t have to wait for the next update to get rid of bugs as they are removed quickly	It isn’t always straight forward to use and you can’t learn all of the skills in a day so it is more of a learning curve - this could be seen as a positive
It is appropriate for all ages	Hiring a trained person to teach you could be costly
It shows others that the user is up-to-date with modern technology	It takes a while for users to perfect their skills

Blogger

This was my first experience using Blogger but it so simple and easy to pick up so I didn’t really have many difficulties and it soon became an easy but intuitive interface to use. I found the concept really valuable since it was my work was being displayed on my webpage as my blog, this is an exciting and new media to me. I used the different labels to separate my work to make it easier to view and look more professional. Also it was brilliant that I could display my work in so many different ways because you can create a standard blog with text and picture or put in a link to an online forum such as Prezi, issuu, or flipsnack to name a few.