My media studies classmates and I provided constructive feedback for each other’s magazine in class once we finished our first magazine cover, table of contents, and article draft. The suggestions I received were very helpful in creating a more successful magazine, considering they told me my strengths (elements I shouldn’t change in my final magazine) and weaknesses and things that weren’t obvious to me. Since my classmates have never seen my magazine before and I don’t speak to them regularly, they saw it from a new perspective and could give me more honest feedback. With the recommendations, I have many thoughts on how to improve my magazine and incorporate my feedback.
Cover Ideas:
1. Switch the main cover line with the bottom cover line
One of the classmates that gave me feedback, Shira, said that my main cover line (“Mouthwatering Inside and Out”) was unclear. Since my cover image displays a recipe from the “National Oreo Cookie Day” cover line, replacing my existing main cover line with my bottom cover line would be more sensible. I found this feedback very helpful, as it helped me realize that my main cover line isn’t fitting since it isn’t specific and doesn’t describe my cover image—whereas my cover line does. Hence, it helped me figure out that I should replace my main cover line with the cover line that references the image, giving my cover image more information and making my magazine more understandable.
2. Change the page number of the caption beside the cover image
Gabriella realized that the page number of my caption beside my cover image didn’t correlate to the start of my article on Oreo cheesecake. Changing the page number to match my table of contents is necessary (from page 23 to page 56), as it is a human error and can confuse my audience about where the article starts.
Cover Changes:
1. Switch the main cover line with the bottom cover line
I incorporated Shira’s feedback by deleting “Mouthwatering Inside and Out” (it didn’t add significance to my magazine) and replacing it with my bottom cover line. After making this change, my main cover line is more specific and adds more context to my cover image. I also changed the color of the main cover line to a light shade of pink found on my masthead, which I achieved through a website to find the exact color code (I couldn't use the Eyedropper tool on InDesign since my masthead is an image). I also created the cover line “Quick and Easy” to replace the bottom cover line that became my main cover line. I made a cover line related to quick and easy recipes to appeal to those in my target audience with a busy lifestyle. Shira didn’t mention this, but I also changed the capitalization of “Cheesecake” to “cheesecake.”
2. Change the page number of the caption beside the cover image
I used Gabriella’s realization to change the page number on my caption from 23 to 56, the correct start of the Oreo Cheesecake Special Edition article.
Table of Contents Ideas:
1. Use the table of contents fonts to the fonts used in the first draft (personal feedback)
Although my classmates didn’t specify this, I wanted to use the fonts from my first table of contents draft in my second draft (other than the title since they both have the same font). The fonts in my first draft were more fitting for my magazine and appeared more compressed, making my magazine less crowded. I plan on changing this by looking back at my second draft and replicating its text details under the “Characters” section on InDesign to my first draft. If necessary, I will also change the font size.
2. Move the footer more toward the left
I wanted to use Shira’s feedback of moving the page number, publisher, and date more toward the left. She told me that, by moving these details, my magazine would appear neater. I also feel that moving them would look more distinct from my content, and therefore, less crowded and more organized. Especially since they are extra information, I don’t want them to appear too close to my content and distract from it.
3. Position the images in the gallery to have even spacing
Brianna recommended that I move the placement of some images in my gallery; the spacing between my images is uneven, making my magazine appear less organized. With the uneven spacing, there is more white space, which I could’ve used to make the images larger. I will incorporate her feedback by matching the space separating the first two images (there is a reasonable amount of space between them) with the rest of the images.
Table of Contents Changes:
1. Use the table of contents fonts to the fonts used in the first draft (personal feedback)
I integrated my feedback by changing the article titles from the Karla Bold font to the Hind Siliguri Bold font. I also changed the article descriptions from the Dosis Regular font with a 14.5 pt font size to the Spectral Regular font with a 13.75 pt font size. These fonts are more suitable for my magazine since the serif description connotes formality and elegance. The font for the article title also appears bolder than the font I previously used in my second draft, applying more emphasis and making it stand out more.
2. Move the footer more toward the left
As Shira advised me, I moved the footer toward the corner of my magazine. Placing these details in this position was a helpful tip since it added more space between the footer and my content, making my magazine look less cluttered; this is an important trait—especially for the pages of my magazine that have more words—that would make my magazine neater and more professional.
3. Position the images in the gallery to have even spacing
Brianna’s feedback was helpful, and I am more content with my magazine after implementing it. To create consistency with the spacing, I moved the placement of and scaled up the images in my gallery. I also scaled up the photos for the gallery to use more space on the page (there was unnecessary white space before making changes). I also moved the page number, publisher, and date toward the corner to be consistent with the other side of the page (Shria’s feedback).
Article Ideas:
1. Changing the typography and layout of my title (personal feedback)
The image above is the title of my first article draft. Although I like most of the components in my first article draft better than my second, I like the appearance of my second article title better. It is simplistic, yet it goes better with the background. My classmates never mentioned this, however, I think it would make my magazine more appealing regarding appearance. I plan on changing the title of the first page of my magazine article by looking back on my second draft of the magazine article and copying the details in the “Characters” section of InDesign to my first draft (like I did when changing the fonts in my table of contents).
2. Bold or change the font of words on the first page of my article
Shira’s advice for my article was to bold certain words on the first page. I didn’t think of this idea, hence, class critique was very useful. My audience may not be interested in reading an article with the same typography, and therefore, Shira’s advice helped me change this. In doing so, my article would be more eye-catching and appealing.
3. Change the position of the images on the 63 page of my article (personal feedback)
To add more variety to pages 62 and 63 of my article, I will change the placement of my images. As of now, the pages seem to mirror each other, and the layout is simplistic. Hence, I want to change the three images on page 63 to the top of the page. By moving the images to the top, the recipe instructions would move to the bottom, making it less crowded on the top.
4. Change the lines separating the ingredients and instructions to a box (personal feedback)
Despite my classmates not mentioning editing this part of my magazine article, I felt it necessary to change the two lines that separate the ingredients from the instructions to a box (the format in my second article draft). A box would match my format for the recipe recommendation, creating consistency. It would also add more emphasis since a white background under the text would be the most visible.
5. Change the order of pages (personal feedback)
My classmates didn’t point this out, however, I realized that my article would make more sense if I placed the images of the final product of the cheesecakes at the end rather than the front of the recipes. Changing the order of the images would be more beneficial to my audience as it would continue the sequential order of my recipe; it would show my audience the process of making the cheesecakes from the beginning to the end.
6. Center the titles of “No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake” and “Vegan No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake” (personal feedback)
Since I previously centered the title of my magazine article and the first Oreo cheesecake article, I realized I should maintain consistency by doing the same to the titles of the second and third Oreo cheesecake recipes.
7. Add an introduction to the no-bake and vegan no-bake Oreo cheesecake recipes (personal feedback)
Although I like how I structured the no-bake and vegan no-bake articles, I should introduce the recipe to my audience and entice them to bake the recipes. I will also mention how the recipes are different from each other, increasing clarity. I plan on writing an introduction at the top of the page, below the title of the no-bake and vegan no-bake recipes, in the same Spectral font as most of the content in the recipe (maintaining consistency and neatness).
8. Enlarge “Ingredients” and “Instructions”
Gabriella recommended that I increase the font size of “Ingredients” and “Instructions.” Her tip was helpful as it added more emphasis to the words and made it clearer for my audience where to find the start of the ingredients and instructions.
9. Edit page 61 where the words are cut off
Brianna realized that my composite image hid the ending letters of some ingredients. Although it may be obvious what the ingredients are (there is an image beside it showing the ingredients), this human error reflects badly on my magazine and can confuse my audience. It also doesn’t look pleasing when the image is too close to the text. I plan on making the ending letters visible by arranging the text box to the front and moving the composite image to the right so they don’t overlap anymore.
10. Change the uneven white space
Tevo noticed that a few of the pages in my magazine were inconsistent with the amount of white space. By maximizing the space on the page, I can increase the images on the pages and the size of the text. I can also decrease the column size to make the text seem less long.
Article Changes:
1. Changing the typography and layout of my title (personal feedback)
I changed the title of my article by first deleting the white box surrounding the text. I found it unnecessary and distracting from both the background image and the text. I then changed the fonts and font sizes of the title; I kept the font of “Special Edition:” but changed it to a size of 47 pt, and I changed the font of “Oreo Cheesecakes” from Fira Sans with a size of 41 pt to Dosis with a size of 48 pt. These changes made my title more legible and appealing to the eye; the subtle color of the pink went well with the white text under it and the dark background.
2. Bold or change the font of words on the first page of my article
I didn’t directly apply Shira’s advice by bolding or changing the font of certain words, however, I did realize that I should add emphasis where necessary. When adding stress to content in the rest of my magazine, I changed the text color to hot pink; doing the same on the first page of my article (rather than bolding or changing their font) would maintain consistency. By using Shira’s helpful tip, my article introduction became less dull and more eye-catching, enticing my audience to read my encouraging words to amateur bakers (how cheesecake can be easy to make with practice, despite its notable challenges), and about Nadia and her bakery (leading to the next page about my interview with her). I also moved the page number, publisher, and date to the corner of the magazine for uniformity with my table of contents.
3. Change the position of the images on the eighth page of my article
Moving the three images on page 63 to the top of the page made the page more neat, readable, and less diverse, as I intended. In doing so, I had to move the recipe instructions to the bottom of the page, making it less packed on the top. However, it didn’t all fit as one column, so I had to break it up into two; this made the instructions easier to read since it separated the text, making it more pleasing to the eye. When I moved the images to the top, I placed them closer together and increased their sizes to decrease the white space and maximize the space on the page. Enlarging the images also made them easier to see.
4. Change the lines separating the ingredients and instructions to a box (personal feedback)
After changing the separation lines to a box under the ingredients list, there was more emphasis and visibility of the text. Since the background was light gray, adding a white box under the text would make the ingredients show up more (unlike the pink two lines, which blend in more since they are thin and already a major color on the page). The shape also adds more depth since it differs from most of the content in the rest of my article, which has a transparent background with no borders around the text boxes.
5. Change the order of pages (personal feedback)
To maintain the sequential order of my recipe, I changed the order of the images that show the final product of the cheesecakes from appearing at the front of the recipe to the end of the recipe. The photo above only shows how I changed the order of the regular cheesecake from appearing before the ingredients and instructions page to the end of the recipe (in front of the start of the no-bake Oreo cheesecake recipe). Nevertheless, I changed all of the images of the final products of the cheesecakes to the end of their recipe. Since I changed the order of the pages in my article, I also had to change the page numbers in my footer and their position to mirror each other. I also had to move the position of the citation that says where the recipe is from; when I changed the placement of the footer, some of the citations were too close to it or hid it, so I changed the position of the citation as well. I only showed one image above of the change I made to the placement of the citation, however, I changed it on all of the necessary pages.
6. Center the titles of “No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake” and “Vegan No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake” (personal feedback)
I centered the titles of the second and third Oreo cheesecake recipes for uniformity with the title of my magazine article and the first Oreo cheesecake recipe. Although I centered the titles with the click of a button and dragging the text boxes, the pages where I made the changes looked more uniform. It is also a common convention of magazines, and the top middle part of the page is where most readers look first (making the titles most effective in this position).
7. Add an introduction to the no-bake and vegan no-bake Oreo cheesecake recipes (personal feedback)
I am pleased with the outcome of adding an introduction below the titles of the no-bake and vegan no-bake Oreo cheesecake recipes. It adds background information about the recipes and explains their purpose, allowing the audience to know what the recipe entails and giving me another opportunity to target my audience. It also helped me clear up the difference between the three Oreo cheesecake recipes.
8. Enlarge “Ingredients” and “Instructions”
I increased the font size of “Ingredients” and “Instructions,” as Gabriella advised, by 4 pt. Although the image above only shows the result of enlarging the words on page 66 of my magazine, I did the same when these words appeared in the rest of my article. Gabriella didn’t mention it, however, I also underlined the words for extra emphasis and increased the font size of “Recommendation” by 4 pt for the same purpose (it would make the word stand out more to my audience).
9. Edit page 61 where the words are cut off
I changed the overlapping issue by arranging the text of the recipes’ ingredients to the front and moving the image toward the right. By incorporating Brianna’s feedback, the page looked more professional, neat, and less confusing. If she didn’t give me a critique, I may not have noticed the issue, and my audience may have been confused.
10. Change the uneven white space
I fixed the white space issue by slightly increasing the font size of the text and decreasing the column width. I was initially skeptical of changing the font sizes since it can create inconsistency. However, I changed it by 0.7 pt (an insignificant difference), the font size of most of my text (and therefore, it doesn't create inconsistency). In the image above, I didn’t increase the size of the text (it is right beside other text, hence, the change would be noticeable), but I decreased the width of the column, which also allowed me to increase the size of my image of Nadia making a DoorDash order. By making this change, I had a better text-to-image ratio. My page was also easier to read and more appealing to the eye. The image above showed how I made changes to page 59 of my magazine article, however, I changed it on the other pages as needed.
I realized I left out an important part of my article when editing my magazine to include feedback from my classmates, Nadia’s cheesecake. The following is the process I took to make this section of the article:
The first image shows the title of the next section of my article, which I formatted the same way as the other titles of my magazine article (the PT Sans Narrow Bold font, with a black font color, a 35 pt font size, underlined text for emphasis as needed, and centered text). I formatted it in the same way as the previous texts in my articles for consistency and neatness. I also feel that it is a suitable format for my magazine (the font is simple, the color is distinguishable from the background, the size of the text is legible, words stand out when needed, and the text is visible). I then created an introduction of the section to summarize the article for my audience and intrigue them to keep reading. I also inserted the images of Nadia preparing her Oreo Cheesecake Mini Pie to show my audience the process of making it (image 2). I then added the singular Oreo from the first page of my article to add more depth to my numbered list (like the cupcakes in my table of contents), a description of the image, and the number one (which I changed to a white font color) on top of the Oreo. The next image is me cropping the second image I added once I duplicated the layout from the first step of Nadia making her cheesecake. The following image is of me changing the font color of the description of the third step, “Enjoy,” to the italicized version of the Spectral font (for emphasis, like I did elsewhere in my magazine) and hot pink (a color in my magazine’s color scheme). Once I finished creating the layout and content of the first page of this section in my article, I added a light gray background through the Rectangle tool—as I did with every other page in my article, further creating consistency (image 6). For the last page of my article, I added my image of a slice of Nadia’s cheesecake to show the final product of the dessert, as I did for the three Oreo cheesecake recipes before it; this shows the textures of the inside of the dessert, which would appeal to my audience the most. I also added what the whole cheesecake looks like to show the whole dessert and its appearance, in addition to a hot pink border around the image (image 8). Lastly, I added the footer with the same format as the other pages in my magazine to both pages in this section of my magazine (image 9).
Due to the multiple changes I made that I didn’t realize beforehand, receiving feedback from my classmates was a success and a very helpful activity; I realized my mistakes and how to improve my article. For example, my classmates informed me that I should replace my main cover line with one of my cover lines and add more emphasis to certain words. They also told me that my composite image on page 61 covered some of the letters in the ingredients list. On a more positive note, they gave me plenty of positive feedback, which helped me figure out what I don’t need to change in my article. With my constructive feedback, I also indirectly realized what I should change in my article, such as things in my second drafts that I liked better than in my first. This includes, but is not limited to, using the fonts from my second draft, changing the lines separating the ingredients and instructions to a box, and changing the order of the pages of my article. There was also some feedback I didn’t think would benefit my magazine. For my magazine cover, I didn’t use Brianna’s recommendation on changing the font and font size of buzzwords (it would be chaotic, as I already have various fonts on my cover) and Tevo’s feedback on italicizing “any” (PT Sans Narrow doesn’t offer an italicized version of its font). For my magazine table of contents, I didn’t use Gabriella’s feedback of adding more space between the articles; I couldn’t find a way other than changing the font size, however, the fonts are already small, and I want them to be readable. I also didn’t use Tevo’s feedback on formatting my images in the order they appear in my magazine, as I would have to make some images very small (creating inconsistency), and there would be unnecessary white space inside the gallery. With everything in mind, my magazine looked more eye-catching, neat, and less flawed after hearing my classmates' suggestions for my magazine cover, table of contents, and article.
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