Based on CS Pierce’s three sign categories, my banner includes symbolic signs such as the purple colour of ‘Media Studies’ which also links to the purple in the ‘Instagram’ logo. Iconic signs are the iPhone, the Magazines and the Newspaper. An indexical sign in my banner is the background which represents many different media forms and people who work with media, it gives an insight into the different connotations of the word ‘Media’.
Iconic Signs –
Indexical Sign –
Symbolic Sign –
Iconic Sign:
2. Asian Woman (overlay-ed on the right)
3. Radio (middle, left)
Indexical Signs:
2. The “text media” (A-Level course)
3. The text “Hautlieu School”
Symbolical Signs:
2. Stripe
3. The colour red
Ok to get you started on some practical work, I will introduce you to Adobe Photoshop. First of all open up photoshop (short cut on your start menu) and register with your school email.
You will be able to use Photoshop outside of school! Yay! Try it and let me know if you are encountering problems.
To get you going please produce a banner / blog header. You will need to produce a document that is 1260 px / 240 px, 150 dpi, transparent background. Save this file as a PSD in your home folder / Media A level folder.
PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU WILL NEED TO SAVE YOUR FINISHED WORK AS A (COPY) JPEG.
Upload your finished JPEG to a new post on your blog – categorise it as production & induction – you will get a mark for this.
If you are a whizz at Photoshop then off you go, otherwise I help everybody to:
If you have finished your banner (and saved it as a JPEG on your blog) then produce a MASTHEAD as an extension activity. A masthead is the title of of newspaper or magazine. They are unique in design and generally communicate the theme and style of the publication.
You will need to measure some real products and produce a photoshop documents that is the actual size (in centimetres). As this would be a real print product make sure you resolution is 300 dpi.
Ok you must be a super Adobe Photoshop whizz if you are here!! If so, you task now is to produce the front page of your newspaper / magazine – the (made-up product) that you just created the masthead for (so you would import your masthead as a separate image / layer) and that you wrote your article for.
Make sure the front cover makes a link to your article (summer task).
As ever, post up as a JPEG on to your blog.
Enjoy this process – theory next!!
I intended to create an informative interview to educate students who were deciding whether or not to go to university and wanted to find more about what the university experience was like. I wanted to create a aesthetically pleasing A4 page, whilst allowing it to contain lots of information.
My product included two different sections, one which was a light-hearted Q and A style interview, this ensured that the reader could get to know a bit about the interviewee’s personality before reading the full interview. I used harsh lines to section off the main interview, the bi-line and title. I used colours to complement the image that I included, however on reflection, I would have used more than one image that related more to my subject so that the majority of the page wasn’t just copy. I used a slightly larger title but, now, I would increase the size of the title and decrease the main copy text. This would be similar to a stereotypical magazine product.
The person I interviewed was my cousin, Nina, who had just received a first class degree in ‘Media and Communications’. I wanted to celebrate her hard work, dedication and success through the product. This representation is somewhat radical as it creates a countertype to a stereotypical young adult who often doesn’t really care or put enough effort into their education or contemplate their imminent future and decisions.
I created my product to be published in a Student magazine, perhaps a small, independent company, or a specific universities magazine. My magazine interview would most likely be written by student writers, talking about their own education experience and interviewing others regarding their own. The kind of audience that would consume my product is a range of students, probably at ages 16-23, who want to research into what university life would be like or those already studying who would like to hear about others and events happening on campus.
If I re-created this product, I would include a larger image and wrap my text around it. This would create a main focus to the magazine page. I would use a drop cap to add a bit of variety to my text, this would help to keep the reader engaged. I would increase the size of my title and reduce the size of my copy.