https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i How Effective is the Combination of Your Main Product and the Ancillary Texts? en-us 2017-05-04 09:48:48 UTC 2023-01-20 02:08:48 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/File.png joshwebbasmedia https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169883584 For my final products I decided to create a magazine front cover, contents page and a double page spread as well as 2 ancillary texts; a website and billboard. Doing this allowed me to research specific design elements of media products and create my magazine looking as professional as it possibly could. My main goal was to research professionally designed magazines and create my own based on the conventions and design tactics used in them to ensure that my magazine also looks professional. I also did this when coming to design my billboard and website and discovered that a maintained house style is extremely important as it will make the magazine and anything related to it recognisable.]]> 2017-05-04 09:51:27 UTC https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169883584 joshwebbasmedia https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169884585 In my eyes, the most important aspect of the design process was to get a good masthead; one that is easily and quickly recognised so I thought  I would incorporate some sort of logo into it, which later became present in most, if not all of my products to ensure the house style is consistently shown throughout. I used a small crown as the magazine logo as this works really well with the name of magazine as it is something that a traditional monarch would wear. This later became something that I used on all of my products and texts as it helped maintain a house style and linked all of them together effectively. This familiarised the logo and ensured that it would be recognised whenever someone would look at it.]]> 2017-05-04 09:56:40 UTC https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169884585 joshwebbasmedia https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169885592 Another thing that links my products together is the use of graphically designed images, whether it be the front cover image or the character on the billboard. This means that people would associate the magazine with graphic design and bright colours. The images all have similar appearances as they are all simple images with few colours used and this will also help with the house style as it means they are all consistent with one another. I did still use images taken with a camera to ensure that it wasn't just all digital art, however compared to the main images they aren't as important so are usually smaller and in the corners.]]> 2017-05-04 10:03:07 UTC https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169885592 joshwebbasmedia https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169887348 Another thing that I used throughout was the URL for my website. This meant that whatever is being looked at by the audience, they will know about the website and be prompted to visit and given the link necessary to do so. This promotes the website and ensures that people know about it. I also included links to the Facebook page and Twitter Page to increase the social media presence of the magazine as this is very important to do. I used website links on front cover, contents and billboard and used the name of the Facebook page and the Twitter @ handle on the Double page spread. My reasoning of this is that a lot of the people will be reading the magazine digitally on a desktop PC so to get to these pages they will have to type in the URL, which is why I provided them instead of the handles. I however, did use the page names and handle on the double page spread as this would be displayed differently on the website and only seen on a physical copy so it would be more likely that the reader will be 'on the go' and not have access to a desktop computer, whereas they will more than likely still have their smartphone or tablet to search for the magazine on their social media apps. The initial place that I put the links was on the front cover which puts them directly into the vision of the reader as the front cover is the first thing that they look at. I put the links at the bottom of the page separate from the main image so it doesn't draw attention away from it, yet is still clearly visible. I think having a website link on the front cover is a good idea as if someone say the magazine on a shelf but was hesitant in buying it, they can see the website link and look it up on their phones first and this might encourage them to buy the magazine over other ones. I also put them all in capital letters as because it's quite a long string of text, the font has to be smaller than other aspects of the page so it's necessary to find a different way of making this text stand out.]]> 2017-05-04 10:14:58 UTC https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169887348 joshwebbasmedia https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169945234 Another very important aspect that I put all throughout my products was the logo. My logo is very simple as it's just a crown, and I think if it were a more complicated image the audience wouldn't recognise it as easily. I have placed the crown throughout the magazine, often being 'worn' by some text or in the case of the billboard, by a character. I feel this personifies the text a bit which is an inconspicuous 'Easter egg' and just adds a bit of fun and quirkiness to the design of the magazine. The logo colour is usually a blue, however it doesn't always have to be the same colour as it's a simple image, and I feel that this worked out well for the style of the magazine as it makes it a lot easier to change the colour to match the colour scheme instead of having a small blob of colour standing out a lot as it's very different to any other colour on the page. I think that putting the logo in so many different pages of the magazine makes it more likely that the audience will remember it as they will be conditioned to seeing it throughout my products. ]]> 2017-05-04 14:22:18 UTC https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169945234 joshwebbasmedia https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169955166 The front cover of my magazine ties in well with the rest of my products as it has all of the small similarities that make them recognisable. For instance, I have put the logo at the top right of the page, which when placed on a shelf the left third will be seen so, having the logo at the very top means it will be seen first, and with the addition of the logo on my ancillary texts means that if someone has visited the website or seen the billboard before, they will easily be able to recognise the crown and associate it with the magazine, and it also makes it easier for previous customers to notice it too. The fonts are also seen throughout the magazine, for example the font I used for the Masthead (Xirod) has been used in other parts of my other products, like for the word 'Contents' on the contents page and also for the name of the magazine on the billboard as well as others. I also added the website link to the bottom of the page as well as the information for the social medias as this will allow the audience to find the website and search for and like the magazine on their social medias.]]> 2017-05-04 14:48:51 UTC https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169955166 joshwebbasmedia https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169959944 The main thing that stands out on this is the word contents as I have used the same font as the masthead and replicated the effects that the masthead has. I used the crown logo on the top left corner of the word and added the staffs underneath to fill up empty space and look like the masthead. I also put the website and social media links at the bottom of this page too as it will ensure that people know what they if they see something they're interested in on the contents page but want to find out more on the website they can see the link here instead of having to turn back to the front cover which I think will be effective. I have also used the same font for the text to the left as the one I used for the headline on the front cover. This adds to the consistency and house style of my products. The colour scheme of my magazine is black white and blue which is apparent through my contents page, with the main colour being black with hints of blue all on a white background. The front cover is slightly different as it has more blue throughout, however this is because of the main image and wont always be exactly the same. If the main image isn't present then the colour scheme would be black, white and blue with black being the most concurrent colour.]]> 2017-05-04 15:02:27 UTC https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169959944 joshwebbasmedia https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169960313 The double page spread has a slightly different style as to fit in with the article, however there are still aspects of the page that work with the house style such as the logo on the top left of the page and the name of the magazine in the font used for the masthead. The house style is present here, although a bit simmered down with the colour scheme however this is intentional so the minimalistic style of the page fits in with the 'futuristic' or modern theme of the article. I have also linked the website and social medias on this page too, all along the bottom. I have also used the same font for the page numbers and also the font for the website links at the bottom is the same as the ones on the front cover, contents page and billboard.]]> 2017-05-04 15:03:26 UTC https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169960313 joshwebbasmedia https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169961225 The billboard follows the same house style that is present throughout my products and my website. The first example of this is the word 'Monarch' and the font used, being the same as the one used for the masthead and contents page, so straight away it would be recognisable. Also the sub header from the Masthead is present here. This is the magazine slogan so I thought it would be best to add it to the billboard as it sends a positive message and will get people interested in reading the magazine, and will also make it obvious that a magazine is being advertised. The next aspect of the billboard that ties in with the magazine and website is the logo. I have placed the logo on top of the 'head' of the character to give it a bit of personification and it also incorporates the logo in a fun and quirky. The smiley face character added is also part of the style with a lot of the magazine having graphically designed images.  I have also incorporated the website link and social media links on the billboard as this will give people the incentive to visit the website. I have also added info on apps that can be downloaded of the magazine, and also added images of mobile devices illustrating the magazine front cover and website which lets the audience know what they will see. Lastly, the house colour scheme is also present on the billboard with the absence of the white background and instead a light blue one which was a decision made so the billboard would blend into the sky, and I think this ties in very well with the style of the magazine.]]> 2017-05-04 15:06:18 UTC https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169961225 joshwebbasmedia https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169961707 The website incorporates a lot of design ideas present in the magazine. The house style is also present here on the website, with the black and blue on a white background. A variation of the logo is also present here. The magazine front cover is featured on the website, so to advertise it as the magazine advertises the website so both the magazine and website advertise each other in a type of cross-advertisement system, in which both make mention of each other and provide the readers with the required information to seek them out. ]]> 2017-05-04 15:07:46 UTC https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169961707 joshwebbasmedia https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169989946 To sum up my main product and ancillary texts are very effective in achieving synergy in a way that they advertise one another and follow the same house style so that it's apparent that they are all the 'same' product. I also feel that the way the promote each other is very effective as they provide clear information that is easily understood.]]> 2017-05-04 16:33:05 UTC https://padlet.com/joshwebbasmedia/f6jxy6g6dt2i/wish/169989946