Evaluation

At the beginning of yellow week, we were given the brief of Obsession. Initially i thought about what in life obsessed me, and what i could not live without.  Things that first came to thought were shopping, fashion, family and doing well in life.  However, i then thought about it further, and thought this would be much to simple, and would not be a subject i could really go into depth about.  Ideas of real life situations then came to thought, such as poverty, living in recession, living in the slums, and most importantly body image.  I liked all of these ideas, but thought body image was the most interesting, as without a doubt 99 percent of people can relate to this.  I then started to brainstorm ideas related to body image, being plastic surgery, anorexia, being overweight, constantly having to look in the mirror and being obsessed with your general appearance.  I considered looking at weird obsessions to do with this but thought i could get much more into the writing side of this if it was something serious that i could really connect with emotionally. I sat down and started to draft an article, and found it really interesting to write as if i were the person obsessed, or as if i was living a day in the life of someone with the disorder. I found it quite difficult at first to find a starting point, and did not no where to start.  I eventually wrote the article and brought it into college the next day to be looked at and to receive feedback. I general feedback was good, as they were quite pleased with what i had written and liked the way i had approached the style of writing.   However, there were some elements that needing changing such as the beginning line as they did not find it grabbing enough.  I therefore decided to go straight into the 'day in the life of' instead of introducing the article with a question to the audience.  Little areas of the article needed editing such as punctuation and wording, however i completed this quite quickly and was soon left with my finished article.  I then needed to think about how i wanted my article to be designed.  I looked for inspiration in magazines such as ASOS, as many of these were collaged and colourful, which is something that really interests me. However, i did not feel this related to my article, as i thought it was much more serious and needed something either really detailed like the mind of an anorexic, or something simple like an anorexic being stripped away.  I decided to go with the simplicity, as i wanted the article to be the main feature and stand out off the background.  I knew i wanted to create something to do with mirrors for my background, and looked at cracked mirrors but thought this would be hard to do as i did not want to break a mirror myself due to bad luck.  I also did not want to take an image of the internet and copy it.  I therefore looked at handprints on a mirror as i thought this related well as it is not obvious, but holds a deeper message as if they cannot escape the disorder.  I think my final article and design is very successful, and i am very pleased with the way it has turned out.  I think the message it portrays is a very strong one that many people will be interested to read as it is something that happens everyday yet many people turn there back on or are unaware of. I feel i worked well on the project itself and put time and effort into creating my finished article. If i could do this project again i would not do anything differently as i feel i have approached it well and have come up with an original yet relatable idea.  

FINAL ARTICLE!

My handprints.

I thought this was very successful.  However, after receiving feedback i have decided to make the hand more far apart and more off centre.

Initial ideas.

Here, to create my final design idea i took an image of the internet of handprints.  I edited them in photoshop and illustrator.  I think this layout is very successful as it is simplistic.  I like the idea of this as when i think of Anorexia i think of everything being stripped away to the bare minimum.

Page design.

I then decided for my article spread i wanted two hands almost 'crawling' up the page.  Using illustrator, i therefore copied and pasted the hand then reflected it.  I am really happy with this design as i think it is very simplistic yet effective and will draw the reader in to reading the article. 

To create this handprint, i rubbed charcoal thickly on a sheet of plain white paper.  I then continuously rubbed my hand over it until my hand was completely covered.  I repeatedly printed until i found a print i was happy with.  I liked this print as i thought it was very detailed, and created the effect i was looking for.

Final draft.

Initial draft.

General research.

I found this image in the ASOS monthly magazine. I was intrigued by the way they had portrayed a very strong visual without using any colour.  In contrast to the other magazines i have researched, i thought this worked really well as it did not deflect from the actual article, and added a simplicity that allowed the article to be the main feature.  After looking at this, i will consider creating a black and white article. 

I gathered this article of the internet that highlights the fashion industries influence on anorexia and body image disorders.  I decided to look at the main elements of the text and pick out important facts and quotations that could influence my writing (soured from www.theindependant.co.uk).

Sourced from (www.theindependant.co.uk)

Layout research.

I am very inspired by the layout of this article i found in the ASOS Magazine. I was interested by the use of collage for the background, and the way in which each image played of each other to highlight the other.  The target audience for this article was very obviously fashion individuals, due to the images chosen to use in the background and the use of colour which most creative people appreciate.  The headline drew me into the article as well, as the white writing on the block black  contrasted everything the background offered.  I think this the layout of this article is very suitable to it's intended audience and has been well thought out and considered.

Initial brainstorm.

For my initial brainstorm i decided to look at general obsessions.  I already knew i wanted to focus on a persons real life experience and a day in there life living with their obsession.  I therefore looked at ideas of poverty, body image, and general obsessions such as shopping.  I thought if i looked at poverty i could compare it to the recession today, and how stretched for money we really are.  However after looking into mental disorders i felt i could write a strong and well researched article on anorexia and someone living with the obsession of their weight.