Amy Varley EPQ

In order to round off the end of the development of my project, I need to present to an audience about the basics of my project as whole. The presentation allows me to summarise the development, research and production of my project and gives me a chance to show how well I have met my aims and objectives.  The presentation also gives me a chance to address the issues I may have faced throughout the two year project, alongside some things I may have done differently. Despite the fact that my project was entirely independent, I think I could have added things that would have led my product more towards a typical music magazine, but I didn't feel as if it was exactly suitable for the requirements of the EPQ as a whole.

My project has made little progress in the time between January and March. Because of quarantine, I was unsure when my presentation would take place. From this point onward, I hope to work on adding some slight corrections/additions to my PowerPoint and the flashcards I hope to use alongside it. In this time period, I would also like to make sure my blog is updated and includes as much of the process of my project as possible. I had hoped to have presented my PowerPoint during the first week back to school after the Christmas break, but this was not possible due to the closure of schools. My presentation was then due to occur online over Microsoft Teams, but was again delayed due to the hope and, in the end, success of completing this in-person. In other years, presentations were completed in front of the head teacher and governors. I will present in front of a reduced audience, but the message and rounding off of my project still holds the same value.

 Over the course of the past month, I have achieved what I set out in November in order to finish my EPQ for the deadline I set for myself. I finally have a printed, physical copy of my magazine to round off the project I've been working on for the past two years. After some design adjustments to the spread concerning independent artists and the insertion of my final text pieces, I printed the magazine at a local shop and assembled it myself.  One specific choice I faced before doing so was not one that was expected when I made the decision to create a physical print. The choice of paper was something I later realised was very important to the overall feel of the magazine itself. Using some of the examples of magazines I already owned, I had an array of models to choose from. Some of the magazine I had were printed on extremely glossy but thin paper, whilst others were thicker and more of a matte feel. In the end, I believe that my decision to choose a middle ground between th...

One of the main limitations of my project was my inability to use more original photography in my final physical product. I would've liked to have attempted to take my own photos for the magazine, other than my personal photos I have already used in the magazine. For example, the pictures I used in the 'independent artist' spread could have been done with the help of some of my friends who study music in their A-Levels. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was unable to access this department in school. Instead, I chose to use some copyright-free images from unsplash.com . This website contains a huge database of images provided by a wide range of photographers. In some ways, this may have benefitted the quality of my final project because of the more professional photos I was able to access. The amount of photos available on this website allowed me to pick the most suitable pictures not only for the topic of each page, but also the cohesive colour scheme I had aimed fo...

 Whilst looking through the examples of magazines that I already own, I found that the copy of DIY magazine I had was very similar to the kind of magazine that I wanted to create for my project. The small A5 layout gave me many examples of how to create an aesthetically pleasing, cohesive magazine whilst maintaining the fan-zine style of the product as a whole. The inside design of this magazine, I felt, was a better example of the type of design I wanted to produce. Whilst the issue included a lot of original photography, it also gave great examples of how to use both images and text together on smaller pages, but maintaining the unique, cohesive design found in all music magazines. From this copy of the magazine, I was also able to get an understanding of the filler pages that were suitable for the type of magazine I wanted to create. The images below are from DIY magazine and gave me some inspiration for the pages I wanted to add, as well as some design ideas. I may not have be...

Skill 1: Using InDesign (and other design software) Where I started: Before I began my project, I had no experience of using digital design software. Despite using Photoshop occasionally in lower school, I never developed detailed skills in using them. As mentioned previously on my blog, my sister began a graphic design degree and I saw her use the software on a regular basis. Not only did this seem interesting to me as I watched her complete briefs in a similar style to that of the EPQ, I also believed it would be useful for my further education. After reading about the modules I would complete on a journalism course at university, learning these skills at my own pace would allow me through the EPQ would allow me to feel more confident doing the same during projects and briefs. My progress in this skill: I now have a basic understanding of how to use design software, more specifically InDesign and Photoshop. Through webpages and actively learning through my sibling, I have learned s...

 Over the course of November, I attempted to write the articles for my magazine. Two of them were completed by the end of the month, but the third may not be finished until a little while into December. This delay was caused by a slightly heavier workload at school and the start of my new job. This will be made up for, however, in the first couple of weeks in December, with the rest of my plan being moved along to accommodate this. I also developed the website version of my magazine over this month. I wanted to create a site that looked as realistic as possible, so I worked on adding some fake interview titles, a 'monthly' playlist of favourite music tracks and a subscription service based around the schemes that free/independent music magazines use to support their writers and editors. My project now has a finish date of the week beginning the 4th of January 2021. This is a great deadline for my project as it allows me to take the Christmas break to add the finishing touches t...

 One of the main skills I had to develop for my project was learning how to use Adobe InDesign to create my final product. I had never used this software before beginning my EPQ and had to learn how to use the tools involved to create a well-rounded piece.  I was very lucky in this aspect because I have a sibling who uses Adobe InDesign as part of her university course. When I couldn't figure out how to put my ideas into action, having someone to help me who already knew what I was attempting to achieve and how to create them was especially valuable. The skills I needed to learn in order to make my designs a reality were often very quick and I benefitted from saving the time I would have otherwise spent trying to find tutorials online for my design. Drop Shadows: One of the key features of my magazine's final production was adding drop shadows to some elements. This allowed my fairly simple design to look a lot more professional when the entire page was completed. It helped to...

Throughout my project, I have developed my design much more then I had originally thought. The paper plan I had created (shown in an earlier blog post) gave me a nice starting point for the design ideas but, as my skills in InDesign progressed, the quality of my design did too. As time passed, my magazine looked a lot more professional and began to fit the vision that I had for it when the idea of a magazine began.  The remainder of this blogpost features some images of my progress and descriptions of how the design has developed over time. Most of the changes focused on creating a cohesive design 

 Throughout October, I worked on the basis of my design for the magazine. I created my own unique layout and page ideas inspired by some of the magazines I own. One of the main inspirations for my magazine was a copy of DIY magazine, because it came in the more zine style format that I was looking for.  I had sketched out some of my ideas onto paper that was made into the basic format of my magazine, which also helped me to reorganise the pages in a way that would help when it came to printing. My ideas have changed drastically from the original paper plan I created and will continue to change even more, but it provided me with a good starting point for some ideas. Scans of the paper plan can be found below, despite being slightly unclear.

(finished designing 30th October 2020) Overall Design: The general design idea for the magazine was a mainly black and white theme, with pictures used to add colour. This colour scheme allowed me to create a cohesive design, whilst making each page unique in layout. By creating a mix of more simple article pages and slightly busier filler pages, I hope to have created a magazine that is easy to read whilst also challenging myself to learn new techniques. The filler pages were designed with the simple shapes of the other pages in mind, whilst also being functional to give meaning to the project as a whole. For example, I couldn't find a timetable for the music venue that fit the style of my project, so I created my own in the colour scheme and layout that fits my magazine much more. Spread #1: Streaming Sites The first double-page spread in my magazine is dedicated to my article about the streaming side of the music industry. I originally planned for the focus of the design to be th...

 For my images, I have chosen to use a website called Unsplash . This is a website I learned about through my sister, who is a current graphic design student. It provides a vast array of copyright-free images that I can use in my publication. The searching process is very simple and the images are all different, whilst staying within my chosen area. The copyright-free aspect of all of my images is very important as, if this was an actual publication, I would need to get permission for images if I wanted to use the image in the magazine. Using this website, I'm using images that the artist/photographer has uploaded themselves, giving permission for anyone to use them. Cover Image: I chose this image because I wanted an artistic cover that would be adaptable for different issues if my magazine was a monthly publication. The image behind the white text could be changed each month. The image I have currently links to the issue as a whole because of its cultural references. In the magaz...

Form: My magazine will be produced in a zine-style, mirroring many local music publications. I chose to create this style of magazine because of its smaller size and less content. I will not be producing a large amount of articles for my project, as this may be too time consuming, but the three articles I aim to produce will allow me to develop design skills with different spreads and outline the major components of a music magazine. This format will also allow me to print the final product easier and cheaper, as a full A4 magazine would be quite expensive. The overall style of my magazine that I currently had in-mind suits the zine style extremely well, allowing me to highlight key components of the publication, whilst undertaking a manageable workload alongside my school work, working towards a realistic finish date for the project as a whole. Audience: I have decided to direct my magazine's design towards a more alternative audience. This is the type of music I listen to on a re...

 In recent times, the music industry has suffered greatly because of the coronavirus pandemic. I have chosen to produce my magazine as if it was being published before the pandemic occurred. With my current writing style, I have not included any reference to this and I believe that, if I was to include the pandemic's impact on the industry, this would have to become the focus of my magazine in order for the correct amount of detail to be added and to cover the necessary information.  This is why I have chosen to create a pre-COVID magazine. I wanted to focus on the issues that face the music industry on a consistent basis and, whilst I understand that the impact of coronavirus on music as a whole has been massive, I could not maintain both of the topics equally with the detail I would have liked to include. I have continued the original path of my magazine; to focus on the changes of the industry as it was before the pandemic, allowing me to provide the level of detail I feel ...

 During the month of September, I completed my research and filled out the information in my source evaluation document. This ran a few days into October, because of a week of mock exams during school hours. This has not heavily impacted on my plans for October, however, as I only had a couple of sources left to evaluate, which were completed very easily once exams were finished. Each source has been evaluated in regards to it's reliability, considering it's author, the date it was written and any contextual factors that may influence the credibility of the article as a source. I have also written a summary of information from each source, allowing me to easily access the facts and figures necessary for writing an informative article. The final column of my evaluation table described how I was going to use these sources in my articles. I detailed the context they would be useful in and the type of information I felt would be best portrayed using the data from each article. This...

 The evaluation of my sources and their reliability can be found on a separate Microsoft Word document. I have found more suitable articles today that suit my new articles better than those I have found previously. I am still using some articles I wanted to use when I found them in the past, but I feel as if the others focused on record labels too much and I believe I needed a wider view of the industry as a whole. There are many different sections that work together to create the industry and I felt that it was important to understand that every person has their own experience with creating music and developing this into a viable career. As I'm creating a music magazine, I need to represent these experiences in the industry. In order to make this happen, I am writing three articles. I have attempted to gather an equal amount of information for each of these articles throughout the ten pieces of research I have assessed.  The column that summarises the content of the articles ...

 In order to further understand the layout of a magazine, I have taken some examples of different page layouts form music magazines that I own. These examples were taken from issues of RockSound magazine, which is aimed towards more alternative music fans. 

 I have decided to create a new plan because of the interruption of my project due to the COVID-19 lock down. I struggled to make progress since March because I didn't know what direction to take the project in. I now want to split the magazine into three smaller essays that each describe an aspect of earning money in the music industry and how each of these avenues impacts an artist's experience in the music industry. September Read through the sources I have already collected and decide if I want to use them for my final essays. This will allow me to find out if I need more data or I can begin to write the body of my essays. I could also summarise each of these sources and the data I can use from them in a blog post to make it easier to find and use them when I begin to write the article. Once I have decided which ones I would like to use, I also need to ensure that my source evaluation document is completed, most likely started a new document all together. Update: September...

 As my final product, I wanted to create a physical copy of my magazine, in order to view it as if it were a real publication. In order to properly print the magazine, I had to reorganise the layout of the pages in InDesign. The product will be created by layering four sheets of A4 paper and stapling the centre. Because of this, the sheets must be printed on both sides and ordered so it reads correctly. I have chosen this method as it is the most accessible to me and is the lowest printing cost. My original plan was to print the magazine using the printing services at Sheffield Hallam University but I then decided to use a local printing shop which I would be able to collect myself whenever necessary.

 In order to create a cohesive design for my final product, I asked for help from my sister. She is currently studying graphic design at Sheffield Hallam University and often uses the programs I needed for my project. I explained to her that I wanted a minimalistic design in regards to the text, whilst the images give the magazine more depth. She helped me create the ideas I had for the design using InDesign and Photoshop, which are both programs that I had no prior experience in. The Front Cover The first step of creating the front cover was choosing an image that would help the simple white text stand out. My sister informed of a website called Unsplash ( Site Link ), which features a collection of copyright-free photos for the public to use in different projects. This site is helpful because permission is not required for use of the photos, allowing much more freedom in regards to the choice of photo and ease of access if I ever wanted to change the photo I used.  I then ad...