Sunday, 25 April 2010

Evaluation

I chose to produce the brief:

The first two pages of a local newspaper, together with a poster for the newspaper and two hyperlinked pages from the newspaper's website.

I immediately decided I was going to create a student newspaper for my college - South East Essex College (SEEC) -
As we do not have one here and instead of having notice boards put up all around the college that the students do not pay attention to it seems a great idea to have it all in a college newspaper, which would cover local events and college related topics. Once I had established my audience I thought I needed a 'twist' to the newspaper, something that would make it more interesting to students and not just another 'dull' newspaper that doesn't relate to them. I came up with an idea to create a parody newspaper, one that would be humourous to students, a light hearted paper full of 'banter'. I then researched parody newspapers and to my disbelief I was only able to find one, in America, which was only, based online - the Onion - due to the lack of this genre of newspaper it gave me more motivation and inspiration to create my own. I felt this was going to be hard work but was pleased to be challenging all typical conventions of real existing newspapers of today.

Once I had planned what I intended to do I had a lot of research to gather. I started by collecting local newspapers to analyse, this enabled me to spot key conventions and layout designs. Furthering this I collected national and international newspapers too so I could compare them to the local newspapers. This is all shown in my 'Researching Local Newspaper' post.

Doing this brief enabled me to develop my skills in many programs that are commonly used in the media industry today such as InDesign.
I used InDesign to create my newspaper, it helped me create the layout as you can insert guidelines and specify all the measurements. Additionally when I set up the blank document I made sure the bleed, slug and columns were visible, this made me aware of my border and helped me design my newspaper neatly, professionally and in proportion. I used a stroke tool in InDesign to give my pictures borders and to have a neat coloured line at the top of the page - both of these features are present in real media products which I learnt from my research of existing products. I decided to follow conventions of layout for my newspaper so the students understand what it is and what the main purpose is - which is to provide them with news and information. I have used columns in my newspaper with big bold headings and subheadings and I have included original pictures with captions and a logo, the main reason I have done this is to make sure my product still has a newspaper 'feel' to it. InDesign enabled me to do this effortlessly.

Another program I have become familiar with through this course is Dreamweaver
I used Dreamweaver to design my newspaper's website, I firstly had to create a basic template with the help from the table creating tool, once I had finalised a layout, with the use of hyperlinks in a navigation bar and designed all the colours I used Photoshop - which is the third program I have used to complete the brief -to design the body of the website and the animated image that I used as the heading of website.

The use of the animated image - which you will see in action if you access the website - challenges the conventions of a newspaper website as they rarely use animated images unless they are the advertisements. I have challenged this as I think it gives the website a bit more 'life' and make it more interesting, especially because of the young target audience this animation makes the website portray a more modern feel which I believe is necessary when the target audience are students.

I used Photoshop the most during my project, it helped me perfect my photography and images for use and enabled me to create a professional looking logo for my whole project which I then was able to incorporate into each task, the poster, the website and the newspaper. Furthermore I designed my poster in Photoshop, this gave me a lot of freedom when designing as there are countless tools and programs within Photoshop that enables me to control everything down to a tee, moreover the use of layers in the program are extremely helpful and the ease of locking them all so you can't make any mistakes is ideal. I had a lot of trouble at first with the poster as when I tried to research newspaper posters I was unable to find anything. This lead me to settle for the sandwich boards posters that are displayed outside of off licenses for my inspiration and guide for designing my own, so I researched those and managed to find lots of images.


My poster definitely follows the conventions of a sandwich board poster, the minimal colour (I only used black, white and red) the capitalization for the heading and the font is also very similar in most of my researched posters. My poster has been purposefully designed and follows poster conventions so passers by and students can skim the poster, taking in all the information they need. The font is very large so it catches their eye and they notice, and are able to read, it from a distance.

Where I have challenged conventions in my newspaper is within the images and the text. Some pictures I have included in my newspaper have been wholly created for humour purposes, such as the image of the SpEEC.com couple. This image was created using Photobooth on a MACbook which cleverly distorts the model's face - I have taken a picture which looks like two faces are stuck to each other and then used this to desribe how the couple are 'inseparable'
Additionally all the text within the newspaper has been written with a light hearted and conversational tone, which have all been written on the blog. This has been done as it is a key feature to making a parody newspaper!

The creation of the website to support the newspaper is a very effective concept, due to my young student target audience the website is ideal, everything that is electronic appeals to them and is a much quicker way of reaching information using a platform they are very comfortable with - the internet. Additionally all the newspaper I researched for this task had websites supporting them. The website will also create more coverage for the newspaper as it would be available all over the word on the internet - whereas the newspaper would only be distributed locally. The creation of the website is an extremely effective tool for SpEEC as it enables it to move with the development of new media, everything is becoming electronic and the death of print media is upon us. Additionally another good use for the newspapers website would be the interaction the audience could have with the news, expressing opinions with comments.

The website is in complete contrast to the poster I also produced, I believe the poster has little effect compared to the website. The poster only has one purpose, which is to advertise the launch of my new college newspaper and informing the students of where you can get one. Furthermore I had a lot of trouble finding newspaper posters as I aforementioned which suggests there isn't many that exist, this could be because of the lack of effectiveness it has on the newspaper itself. Also thinking back, I can not think of one single time where I have seen a newspaper poster which just proves its lack of effectiveness.

Throughout the development of my newspaper, audience feedback has been a very important focus point when I have been making decisions. The first major change due to my peers informal feedback was the change of my newspaper title from SnEEC to SpEEC
-->>>

I believe this makes a huge change to the newspaper as the use of punning with the title of the college (SEEC) is very successful in both versions, however the use of the 'p' to create 'speak' has much more relevance to a newspaper than 'sneak'. This change is down to my peers giving me feedback on my choice of title, which then allowed them to advise me. Furthermore the feedback I received from my tutor and peers on my first logo design was not all good, they said it didn't look strong enough for a logo and was quite boring - which I didn't realise until I created my new logo.
Moreover their constant feedback when I showed them my sketches of all my designs, logo wise, layout wise etc. helped me make decisions to what would look best and also through their feedback I was able to see what would appeal to my target audience as I was getting them actively involved in the creation of my newspaper that would eventually be in their hands.

Throughout this project I have learnt so many new things, gaining and developing a lot of skills that will stay with me, I am please I got the opportunity to use software packages that are actually used in the industry today. I am very happy with the overall outcome of all three of my tasks and can now hopefully pursue a media education at university and further!

Wednesday, 7 April 2010

Completed Newspaper Website

Check out the completed website for SpEEC at
then click on LOL NEWS and HOME for the two links

Tuesday, 9 March 2010

Website Layout Designs

The three sketches below are layout ideas for my newspaper website.
Key:
Rectangle/Squares = Photographs
Lines = Text

1. This design I have the logo at the very top of the page with the navigation bar underneath which is very common in newspaper websites so I am quite sure that I will also be following this trend. As you can see the body of the website will be a combination of photographs and story snippets/headlines to attract the viewer in, below there is a main photograph at the top and then there is a few other smaller ones representing some of the stories. I really like this layout, it is neat and simple yet very effective and very typical of a newspaper website.

2 This design is similar to the one above, however the navigation bar is above the logo, which I haven't seen done on any newspaper website before but I think this could look good as i challenge the conventions. Then the stories are laid out into 3 columns very similar to a newspaper which I think could look very neat and professional.

3 This design is very similar to the first one except the shading on the left hand side is representing the gradient coloured background that I would have. I think this would make it more colourful and more appropriate to the younger student audience the website will have.

After a lot of consideration I think I'm going to base my website on design 1 as I think it looks very neat and professional.


Monday, 8 March 2010

Newspaper Website Research

Echo


The Echo newspaper website is very open which makes it easy to navigate, there's the navigation bar at the top of the page, below the newspapers logo, this has been done so the viewers can see it as soon as they open the website. All the top and most interesting stories are on the front page, however not the full story, there is only a brief summary of what the story is about or the first sentence, this has been done so the website can fit as many stories on the home page as possible, then the viewers click on the heading of the story to be re-directed to the full story. There are alot of pictures aswell to represent the different stories within the website, these draw the viewers attention to those particular stories and have been used very well as they don't reveal the whole story in the picture. The consistency of the website is very good, all the headings are in the same colour and font, as well as the summary. The layout is quite neat, because of the white background there doesn't seem to be much of a layout as such but from a design point of view you can see it, they have three columns. None of the colours are sore on the eye which has been done deliberately as is a big factor that I will need to take into account as well. I feel the website doesn't look as professional as the others I have looked at as so, overall I think it is an OK website.

The Times


The Times newspaper webite, I think, is the most professional looking, this may be because they have a much bigger audience and thus have more money to spend on their designs. The layout is very neat which makes the navigation very easy, the navigation bar is at the top, below the website logo, which is in the same position as the Echo website so so far this looks to be a recurring design feature. Additionally the headings of each story snippet that the website has on the homepage is also in blue which is also the same as the Echo website, I find this unusual as it is neither of the websites house colours, however in both cases it works very well and is easy on the eye. The Times have also just used their headings and a snippets of text on their homepage and not one full story which must be typical of newspaper websites, which does make sense. There are also alot of small square pictures which are related to the stories on the homepage.

the ONION


I have chosen to analysis The Onion's website as it is a parody newspaper website and so I need to see if they challenge any of the typical newspaper website conventions, and in that case I would need to adapt to those.
However from looking at the website, it looks very similar to the others that I had looked at, the layout is very similar, in columns with a bigger picture and story at the top to draw in the audience. The headings are also in blue which has been the same as the above to websites I have analysed, the little snippets of text to summarise each story under the headings, all the font and colour is consistent throughout the website which I think is very important to the design and so even though The Onion is a parody website/newspaper it is still done in a professional way with a good clear layout and navigation system which has been the same in the other websites.

METRO


The Metro newspaper website, I think, is the most attractive compared to the other three I have analysed. All the text is in black which makes it look professional but there are lines of colour everywhere, seperating stories and highlighting some features, coloured borders which combined with the colour gradient background and navigation bar it makes it look very appealing and 'fun'. The website has also used columns to layout their stories with a bigger picture and main story at the top of the page which is an recurring feature, as well as the logo and navigation bar position.


From analysing all four websites I have now got a much clearer idea of how a newspaper website should look, they are all very similar and so I will now create some designs of how my website should look.

Completed Poster

Below is my completed poster design for SpEEC newspaper's release.

Poster Development

Below are two screenshots which show my development of the SpEEC poster.






Newspaper Poster Research


I have been finiding it extremely hard to find a newspaper poster anywhere, I have searched all through the internet and been looking around in towns but have been unsucessful. Thus, I have now focused my efforts on these newspaper posters below that are in the sandwich boards outside off licenses and shops. I have done this as the layout and style of these posters are well recognised and really stand out. I am, therefore, going to mimic this style of design for a poster that is advertising the new release of my college/student newspaper.
This style will hold big bold capitalised text and the newspaper logo. I have not decided as of yet whether I will include a picture, you rarely see pictures on these posters so I doubt I will, as I am going to keep to the conventions as best I can.
Below are a few examples I found off Google Images:






Tuesday, 9 February 2010

Completed Double Page Spread

Below is my completed double page spread!

Double Page Spread Development

Below is the development of the double page spread in my newspaper in forms of a screenshot and my written articles.



Article 1

Now what on earth is this you may ask, well according to our sources, contacts and spys, it is in fact the new university’s student accomodation.

However can you not see the similarities between this and James May’s infamous lego house? I am pretty confident that they have hired ol’ James to build the accomodation after seeing him and 999 others bulding his two story house with 3.3 million bricks. Impressive huh? Or maybe they’re just being copy cats and if that is the case then I bet James May wish he put copyright on it now!

I know it is still being built, but come on, it’s not very attractive is it? What were they thinking? What student is going to want to live in a huge lego piece? Or are we (being oldies) missing the point? And let’s be honest, yellow, blue, grey and white, are hardly the most attractive blocks in a lego set are they?

This accomodation is set to be opened for the first year undergraduates for Southend University, no not the one in Southend which is Essex University but the new university that is to be opened along with the accomodation this September, however that is if everything goes to schedule, and if you have a quick glance to that photograph in the right hand corner over there and you look very closely, just so your nose is touching this paper and then, and only then you will notice there is not one builder or worker on that scaffolding! Tutut, they’re slacking already

As I look at the accomodation, I begin to wonder about the students living there. Is each lego piece a student room? Because realistically, the horizontal ones do not look tall enough to fit student in when they are standing up!

This is mind boggling I must say.

I bumped into a group of students walking past and stopped them to ask for their opinion, here we have Rebecca Marsh, 18, Vikki Farrington and Jake Walker both 17. Kelly Paxman also in the group and is a student at our own South East Essex College said:

“I think they’ve gone for the modern and edgy look to appeal to the students but it’s not very attractive”

“It looks like a maze, how am i supposed to get in?” - an excellent point from Jake Walker, we hunted around together for 10 minutes but there was no door to be seen, it’s an illusion, an illusion we tell you!

Another student we managed to stop by pretending we were a charity said:

“It looks like they’ve mixed up the accommodation plans with their tetris game” SPOT ON LOVE! spot on!

Well we had better stop critising this giant lego land (ok! i’m stopping) and just wait and see!



Article 2

Just under a week ago we set up SpEEc.com as your favourite newspapers website and we had a huge response to our dating section with hundreds of you signing up to meet other singletons.

Well, we’ve done it, we’ve made our first match that are apparently madly in love with each other already.

Emma Harrington spotted Alex Reid on the first day the website launched and got in contact, she said it was “love at first sight” (of the picture) and she couldn’t wait to meet him. Thankfully Alex felt exactly the same and met up for Mc Donalds later that day for their first date and a Mc Flurry.

The unusual looking pair are so happy together and say they are unseperable.The pair have even taken and sent in a picture to show how loved up they are, with a note saying how they just fit together and how thankful they are to SpEEC.


Well, we try our best!



Article 3

CONGRATULATIONS STEPHEN NUTKINS who has just recieved the first A* this year, the very special grade has only been introduced this year so we are very proud, he achieved the grade in English Language which is fantastic! To show how pleased we are we are going to take this space to celebrate!

Woooooooooooooo hoo woo woooohoooo!!! yeah yeah Wooooooooop!!!! wooooooooeeeeeee woooooaaahhh wowowowow WOW!!!!!! wooo ooooooooo wowowowow yeahhhhhh! Yeahhhhh, wooooooooo yeah yeah yeah wahey!!!


YAY, yay yaya yaaaaay, congratulations Stephen, well done! You are now our number one student woo hoooooo, yeah yeah! wow woooo wooo wooopeeeeee!! YEAHwoooooooooo STEPHEN NUTKINS woooooo wowoowowowoeooeoeoeoew!!


Stephen Nutkins: If this isn’t enough to show how proud we are of you please cut out the scoff voucher below to claim a jam doughnut!



Double Page Spread Ideas

  • The current weather
  • Student accommodation
  • New newspaper
  • New year New decade
  • Club Events
  • Exam Time!
  • College merging

I've taken my bullet pointed list from my previous post of story ideas for the front cover and I only used two - The current weather conditions and a snippet about Clubs in Southend, so I am taking the list again to use for story ideas for my double page spread.

More than likely I am going to concentrate on

  • College merging
  • Student Accommodation

As I already have the digital photography ready for these articles and they are very important news within the college at the moment.

Completed Front Page

This is my completed front page of SpEEC newspaper!

Monday, 18 January 2010

Digital Photography

Below are all my digital photos I have taken for my newspaper. The photographs below are in their original state before they have been edited for my newspaper, this is why some aren't in the correct orientation.