Final Magazine Reflection

After evaluating the production process of my final magazine, I would mainly credit its success to my extensive preliminary work and thorough research and planning during the pre-production stages. Such meaningful preparation not only helped build the framework for my final product but also marked a notable turning point in my perspective. Prior to researching, I was unaware of how the so-called "codes and conventions” construct meaning in cooking, food, and beverage magazines. However, reading digital magazines on the content creation and distribution software, Issuu, allowed me to gain a new understanding of the conventional and unconventional elements in magazines of my genre. As I included a mix of conventional and unconventional elements, I believe that my magazine is realistic and unique.

Therefore, due to its heavy reliance on codes and conventions, I believe that my magazine is successful to a high extent. First of all, my images, which constitute a large portion of my magazine, are visually appealing and professional-looking. The use of high-key lighting allowed for strong, brightly-lit focuses on the images' subjects, creating an optimistic mood. The use of transparent backgrounds, on the other hand, allowed my images to properly fit with my magazine's color palette and contained little to no flaws. I also think that my neat visual composition and engaging language also allowed my magazine to be successful. However, it also subverted some codes and conventions, which allowed my magazine to stand out from current issues. For instance, my eye-catching and detailed masthead differs from conventional mastheads, which are more simple.

Unfortunately, to create what I considered to be a successful magazine, I had to encounter numerous technical challenges that arose during the demanding aspects of this project. For instance, I constantly made errors in my magazine's page numbering, thus forcing me to constantly edit my drafts, which often created confusion.