Daniel Thompson evaluated his production process for a magazine focused on the Spyro video game franchise. His research strengths included analyzing existing magazines' features and techniques. Weaknesses included surveys and interviews that did not provide useful answers due to the wrong target audience. For planning, mind maps and mood boards were strengths while the initial reaction was a weakness. Time management improved over rotations. Technical qualities showed similarities like color schemes but differences like layered mastheads. Aesthetic qualities had strengths like structured layout but weaknesses like misaligned sticker placement. Audience appeal considered survey responses favoring balanced images and text for an older demographic. Peer feedback suggested improving readability of text and adding social media links.

1. Evaluation
Daniel Thompson

2. Production Process Evaluation

3. Research
• The strengths of my research in my opinion was the analysis of other existing products and what features they
each held. I had to research four other magazine brands in the same subject area of print as my own product and
break their production down bit by bit to understand what information and techniques went into the design of
each magazine cover. I looked at aspects such as colour schemes used, fonts used, the structure of the information
and how the information was conveyed. For example, was the text persuasive to lure the reader into buying the
magazine or was it more factual and modest to attempt to get the reader interested with general information
about the contents. Another couple things I looked at in these magazines were the layout of the content and the
imagery used both for the backgrounds and the cover lines. I even looked at the design techniques such as
layering and outer glow effects being added to certain parts of the page. All of this information I managed to
gather from the magazines helped me in designing my product by not only showing me what kind of content the
public wanted and where the best places to place them were, but also what effects and tricks were good to use in
the production phase. The research analysis section I had to fill in after the magazine analysis helped me
summarize what I had learnt and been inspired by in brief detail to be used to open me up to new ideas more
quickly in the future. I was also able to jot down the key aspects of the magazines that I analysed that I thought
would be useful in my own design.
• The weakest section(s) of my research phase were I think the survey analysis and the interviews. Firstly, I feel that
the survey did not give me the answers I necessarily needed. This is unusual considering I created the questions
myself however while making it, I found myself struggling to come up with enough questions to help me. This goes
the same with the interview too. Furthermore, I did not like the results I got from the survey and interview as the
people who answered were not necessarily gaming fans, let alone fans of the games I planned on featuring. This
lead me to rely on my analysis of the existing products section more than the survey and interviews.
• To improve my survey answers and questions, I would have given more time to the creation of the survey and the
thought that went into the questions. I would also have distributed my survey to more gamer minded people that
I know rather than just choosing the easy option and asking local people (classmates). I feel that all of these
differences would have improved my product by giving me even more information and inspiration for my ideas in
the final project.

4. Planning
• Strengths: The strength of my planning in my opinion was the mind maps and the mood board. The mind
map was an easy and efficient way of gathering my own thoughts and ideas into one structured page. I
was able to think about the different aspects of the product(s) I wanted to create and also what possible
subjects and content would be good enough to include in the final piece. This would help me create my
product by giving me a base idea to work off of and a reference to look at if I feel myself going off course.
It also gave me plenty of aspects and features to research in the next section of the PowerPoint collection.
The mood board was also a vey good contribute to my work as it allowed me to look at other pieces of
work containing the features and tools that I was thinking of including in my own designs and gather them
together to again point me in the direction I want to work off of.
• Weaknesses: the weakness of my planning was mostly in my initial reaction slide and the mind map. The
initial reaction slide was good for summarizing my thoughts on the project objective and recording down
what aspects of planning, researching and creating I am good and bad at but it never really served as
much help in any part of my work. There was no information that would necessarily help me create my
product to any higher standard than I would do without it. The weakness of the mind map in my opinion is
that it only covers my own thoughts and knowledge. There is no influence or ideas from another mind
except my own and at this point in production I had little idea as to what kind of product I actually wanted
to make. This meant that I could not exactly expand too much on any specific product type due to lack of
knowledge on the product and also little experience actually making that type of product.
• If I could do my Initial Plans PowerPoint again, I would spend less time filling in the initial reactions slide as
I feel it was not as important as the rest of the PowerPoint. I would instead put that extra time into the
mind map, thinking about each aspect of the product(s) I want to create and what features I would add to
make it look as professional as possible. I would also add in more detail about what tools and software I
would use and what for. This would help my product by already planning out what tools would be best to
use for what aspect of the product, shortening the time needed to experiment with effects, etc as much in
the future during production.

5. Time Management
• My time management in the final major project I feel has improved quite
nicely in comparison to the other rotations. It may not still be perfect but I
managed to stay on time for the majority of the weeks available. The biggest
set back to my time management was the fact that I still had work due from
my previous rotation meaning that I had to finish off extra work at the same
time as working through my current project.
• My product was finished on time as I had planned and I did not feel the need
to rush any part of it which means I was able to put all my acquired skills and
knowledge into it. I also feel that I don't get as distracted much as I used to do
– this means that I spent more time actually getting work done rather than
messing around in most lessons. As would any piece of my work, I feel that
had I been given even more time I would be able to upgrade my project and
add things that I have been unable to with the time I've had. I would not
necessarily spend the extra time improving the products I have created but
instead I would create more products to accompany the current ones. I would
either create another double page spread for my magazine or a totally new
media such as audio for more diversity.

6. Technical Qualities
Similarities
i tried to follow the formula of the existing product shown below as closely
as i could. To do this, I used many tools and effects - the most obvious being
the use of layering to emphasise the most important aspects of the cover
such as the main character of the feature game and the cover lines. The
colour scheme is another similarity between the two covers. Both designs
follow the colours of Spyro the dragon and the environment he is in. This
will create a nostalgic vibe for any readers who used to play the orignal
game(s). Both of the covers feature a puff which is advertising something to
the reader, giving them more reasons to buy the magazine and also
informing the reader of what is featured inside the magazine.
Differences
The main difference in the design of the covers is the masthead being
layered. In my design, I had to assure the masthead was in front of any other
layer as the magazine would not be as recognisable as the example mag.
Due to the example magazine being more popular and one of the original
ones, it can afford to hide more of its masthead behind the main image.
Another difference in the design of the two covers is that my design's main
drive is nostalgic vibes. It uses a similar feature image to the example with
the same colour scheme. Anyone who loved PlayStation and Spyro back in
its heyday would love to see the new remaster covered with the same
layout as the original. To further the nostalgia, the new design is using the
same font as the original Spyro games. The original did not do this but fans
would recognise it and appreciate its use.

7. Technical Qualities
Similarities
Similarly to the magazine covers in the last slide, the colour
schemes in the double page spreads is there to give the reader
a nostalgic feel. They represent the colours of Spyro himself
and the many lands that her travels to. Both of the
dps screenshots use images as backgrounds. This way, the same
amount of information can be displayed clearly while also
showing off the game better than with small screenshots.
The layout of the pages themselves are structured well and
easy to read, however my design is all grouped into one large
section whereas the example is split into aspects of the review.
Differences
My dps focuses on the articles more than the other dps, using
less imagery and instead filling more space with text. This gets
more information across at the expense of making the product
look more boring to younger audiences. My dps looks more
structured than the example dps and uses quotes from the
game developers and also past reviews of Spyro. The only
downside to this is that my layout will not look as fun as there
are no small images dotted around to look at.
My dps uses a scoreboard to show clearly to my audience what
aspects of the game are lacking, which parts excel and also how
replayable the game is. This gives the reader a simple and easy
understanding of how the game is when summed up if they are
just skimming through and not really reading the full articles.

8. Aesthetic Qualities
Strengths
Weaknesses
The colour scheme works well
together and was made in
paletton.com.
The skybox was made from scratch
by myself and edited in and I feel it
works well with the rest of the
background.
The information is clearly displayed
and important facts are highlighted
in a contrasting colour.
Layering is used to create a
professional 3d vibe and gives the
work some depth.
Due to the magazine being new, it
is not covered by anything as to
help people identify the growing
brand.
The text on the cover is equally
spaced and therefore adds to the
professionalism of the product.
The masthead could do with some
readjustments downwards to give
it more room.
The sticker needs to be moved to
be alligned with the masthead and
Spyro logo.
The sticker is too big for the space
it is in and it does not comply with
the structured and well laid out
aesthetic I was hoping to achieve.
Improvements
The sticker will also need to be
shrunk.

9. Aesthetic Qualities
Strengths Weaknesses
The image imported into
the left page blends in
perfectly with the border
colour and looks natural in
placement.
There is plenty of content
to look at including
screenshots, quotes and
ratings for the game.
The font used is the same
as in the game creating a
sense of familiarity and a
nice theme for the review.
The image used as a
background on the right
side of the dps uses similar
colours that go well with
the colour scheme used.
The rating section
clearly indicates which
sections of the game are
good and bad and how
they hold up in a simple
detail.
The dps is not as interactive
as I feel it really could have
been.
The text had to be cut off due
to the lack of space on the
page and due to limited time I
was unable to make a second
dps.
Improvements
More interactivity should be
added by adding more
features such as social
network links and forum
questions and answers, etc.
A further improvement would be to work
closer to my planned schedule next time
so that I can assure myself that I will have
time to create extra work if needed or
maybe even to condense the part of the
product that I need to.

10. Audience Appeal
The layout of my magazine is structured and
matured rather than using scattered text and
shapes. I have done this because the majority
of my audience is above 18 as proven by my
survey.
The game being covered will appeal mostly to
the now older generation who played the
original game as children.
I have also tried appealing to my audience in
the survey by balancing out the ratio of images
and text due to my survey showing me people
prefer a balanced mix of the two.
I decided to create a magazine due to my survey's demand for an
article based review as opposed to a video review or community
based.
The colour scheme was also created with my audience in mind as
they would feel nostalgic over the colours of their favourite
childhood game(s).

11. Peer
Feedback

12. Feedback 1
• What did you like about the product?
• I like the 3D design of some of the products and the way they are integrated into professional
interfaces well, (for example the app store interface) I also like the use of corresponding colour
scheme to the subject in question and the font used resembles that of a nostalgic video game.
• What improvements could have been made to
the product?
• On the front cover to the magazine the bar code is out of place, I also think on the title card of
Spyro reignited the flames could’ve been integrated into the background better (grasping at straws
here XD)

13. Feedback 2
• What did you like about the product?
1. I love the colour scheme of the front cover because it matches the main asset which
is Spyro. The use of the spacing has been used well as there are loads of assets but its
not too crowded. With the poster I like the background and how it merges with the
logo of the game. The double page spread has a unique design. It goes well with the
concept of the magazine and would appeal to a wide range of gamers. The use of the
layout is good and the images are of a good size. I like how the text is layered over the
images so now space is left. I also like how the app store design looks realistic to what
an app store looks like.
• What improvements could have been made to the
product?
1. I would of liked to see more assets put onto the spyro poster such as a release
date or an image from the game. With the double page spread, the text is a bit small
and a bit hard to read. I would increase the size by a couple of sizes or I would choose
a different font. The logo of the magazine app could be improved and could link in
with the spyro theme to go with the main concept of the magazine. xoxo

14. Feedback 3
• What did you like about the product?
1. I really like the colour scheme with the purple borders that match the
colour of the purple dragon thing (lol) the font is very fitting with the
style of the magazine and the sticker effect looks really good.
• What improvements could have been made to
the product?
1. The spacing of the font at the top (issue number) and bottom need more
spacing between the letters as it looks quite squished and is quite hard
to read.

15. Feedback 4
• What did you like about the product?
1. I personally love the creativity of the colour scheme throughout the front
cover and will certainly grab the target audiences attention.
2. I liked the use of the banner bellow the dragon as this made the cover look
very professional.
3. I liked how the red sticker looked 3D and really completes the front cover
and again adds professionalism.
4. My favourite element of the cover is of course the purple dragon. Really
conveys the genre of your magazine. (love it)
• What improvements could have been made to
the product?
1. The only improvement I could think of is potentially increasing the size of the
tagline bellow the title, so the audience could read it slightly better. But
everything else is sick.

16. Peer Feedback Summary
• What do you agree with from your peer feedback?
– I agree that the tag line from my cover of my magazine is rather hard to see and read properly and therefore
it would benefit from being resized.
– The font at the top displaying the issue number and date could do with being spaced apart more to make it
easier to read for the audience.
– I think that the Spyro poster would benefit from showing some links to social media pages of the game for
people who are new to the game and who want to find out what the product is.
• What do you disagree with from your peer feedback?
– While I agree that the app store logo could do with some improvements, I don't think it should be more
Spyro themed as it is not the main concept of the magazine and therefore wouldn’t fit the rest of the
magazine designs.
– I do not think that the dps article needs its font increasing in size or its font changing as it would ruin the
Spyro theme and also I would not be able to fit anywhere near as much content as I planned to.
– I disagree that the Spyro poster would benefit from images of the game and a release date. Less is more in
this poster as the fans of the game will see it and speculate about it and get excited. It would also make the
curious audience search for information online.
– I do not think that the Spyro title featured on my magazine cover should be integrated into the background
better as it is one of the important parts of the product that the reader will see before many other things. It
acts as an informant and therefore needs to be standing out as it is.

17. Peer Feedback Summary
– The biggest improvements I would make if I could would mainly
be the text both in my magazine cover and my dps. In the cover,
I would resize the tag line to be a little bit larger and space out
the letters in each word. This would create an easier experience
when read by the reader and make the product look more
attractive by being accessible.
– The same improvement would also be made on the issue
number and date text as in the final product it is too close
together to read.
– The Spyro poster needs a tiny bit more information on at least
how to find its presence on social media for updates. I would
create a small bar at the centre bottom of the poster that still
follows the colour scheme and then add in the appropriate
logos for the social medias that I believe the product would
be/is on.