Woooow, we have finally finished the final assignment 😀 😀 😀

20160411_174430

So again this is my final assignment. It comes in the form of an A5 zine, along with 2 postcards, 1 QR code paper, 1 bookmark and an online version of the zine.

Theme: Cats – Reflection of Me, Reflection of Cats
Type: Accordion Bind

Online:

URL: https://issuu.com/merlinkun/docs/project_issuu (can be viewed online, and on Issuu app on Android and iOS)

flyer-qr-code

The online version of the zine allows for some interesting way to access and interact with the zine. QR code was employed and printed onto a small slip of paper for people to scan the zine into their phone or tablet.

An interesting point highlighted during the presentation was having online zine that goes from more than 1 directions, as the online version currently can only be flipped from left to right instead of more directions such as top and down.

20160411_174645

In terms of concept, the zine is split into 2 – A Reflection of Me and A Reflection to Cats, and it has 12 pages (inclusive of cover pages). Each part relates to how my artworks reflect me as a cat lover and how the world see cats. I used indie cat magazines as my inspiration, elements such as negative space, layout, theme were adapted from it. The zine also contains elements from my research, such as a poach to put extra paper/poster in it, a bookmark as a gift, and a sliding slid to bind the zine together so that things don’t fall off (especially since this zine is not your typical bind).

20160411_174455

A Reflection

This zine is an amalgamation of all the works that came before and much thought and hard work has been put into every single decisions from spacing to color. The test printing was crucial in the development of this zine as it pointed out early what are some of the mistakes that can occur such as typeface that can’t be read or images too close to the edge. I also learned that negative space plays an important part in the overall design as well and not all images or text need to be blown up as breathing space is just as important too.

Early in the process I was deciding upon the type of bind to use. Originally I wanted to just use a normal stapler binding but since my idea was to split the zine into 2, having 2 cover pages would help and hence the accordion bind. This help me think of publication design and I think it will be a very useful skill to have. Another thing I learn was using InDesign, while I am just a newbie to this software, at least now it is another program I can utilize for making publication.

20160411_174532

The final part would probably be thinking of zine as a physical publication and as a digital publication and how those differences will affect the way we interact and experience the zine. The digital version would lack the content of the postcard and bookmark while at the same time you can read the zine on any smart devices and you can do thinks like include an URL link or zooming in on the text or image. The physical copy differ from the physical copy as it can be touched and have texture which makes the way we feel and see the zine in a different way.

Overall, this assignment is both a collection of 2 semesters of artworks and also the start of something wonderful. I can’t wait to work on more cat artworks so I can compile them into volume 2!