One small decision to categorize my magazine under the Cooking, Food, and Beverage genre—due to my sparked interest—changed the entire outcome of my project. Rather than basing my project on nature (Science and Nature, my second magazine genre option), I was more passionate about using my creativity and attention to detail to make baked goods; baking is entirely customizable, and therefore, one can control anything they please (such as plating/presentation) to achieve their desired results.
Research and planning were crucial leading up to the creation of my magazine, and my target audience questionnaire was a notable breakthrough during this phase. It entailed sending a questionnaire to family, friends, and classmates and interpreting the data from the responses to narrow my broad target audience (home cooks of culturally diverse backgrounds and individuals with gourmet taste). Upon analyzing my target audience questionnaire, I received significant results. This data helped me realize that I should change my target audience to focus on amateurs—particularly the working class and people with food allergies and dietary restrictions; my current one is more specific to social groups, and therefore, it would be easier to target my audience. My target audience questionnaire further helped me understand that since most of my audience has little experience in baking, I can interview a local bakery to provide tips and tricks for amateurs (which I can include in my magazine article). Hence, my target audience questionnaire had a domino effect and an immediate improvement in planning my final product.
Considering my limited knowledge of Adobe Photoshop and InDesign, let alone editing, a particular technical challenge was determining how to add my ideas to the software. I mainly progressed through trial and error, which was essential since my plans didn't always work. No matter if I was unsuccessful in the beginning, continuing to reach my goals was crucial. If anything, my mistakes helped me understand improvements for the future. When I couldn’t figure out how to execute my ideas in Photoshop and InDesign, I watched online tutorials to guide me through the step-by-step process. For example, I watched a YouTube video to guide me through creating a color gradient for my masthead in Photoshop since I wasn’t sure of the process. With trial and error and watching tutorials, designing in Photoshop and InDesign became much more straightforward, and I achieved each goal I intended for my magazine.
I photographed baked goods throughout my project, whether for practice or my magazine, each time understanding more about mistakes I previously made in my photoshoots and techniques I should incorporate in future projects. Since the beginning, I increased the quality of my photoshoot environment through a photography light box. I continued to use this prop in other photoshoots due to its success in the quality of my photos. Over time, I also became more familiar with the burst feature on my iPhone, especially for the images in my magazine article that require precision. With these photoshoots also came the opportunity to practice my editing skills in Photoshop, which I've gained much more familiarity with since the beginning of my project. A necessary Photoshop tool I learned while making my magazine was the Spot Healing Brush tool. I used this tool in most of my photoshoots, allowing me to gradually build my skills and become more proficient in editing (despite not knowing the Spot Healing Brush tool before this project).
From planning to developing my magazine and from pre-production to post-production, my final magazine met each goal I planned on accomplishing. From my perspective, my final product was successful in its in-depth recipes, effective targeting and representation (especially with bolded words for emphasis), and enticing shots. I have also put forth maximum effort during the project and created a magazine that uses and challenges conventions to establish uniqueness. Although I don’t have feedback from a worldwide audience, I did receive positive classmate and teacher comments, which proved the success of my magazine. Nevertheless, my satisfaction doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t have flaws. I could’ve used a variation of background colors in my magazine article (rather than only light gray) to add more brightness and color, and the second to last page of my article could’ve been less crowded. Overall, I am pleased with the outcome of my final magazine and turning points, and I have learned many crucial skills along the way, regardless of the challenges during the process.
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