Imagination of Space
After much contemplation, I decide work on the idea of combining both prints and pigeons in my zine. Although at the beginning of my research, henna prints were my main focus. I felt that the pigeons were more unique and I could hardly find any research on it online, therefore I decided to focus more on the pigeons.
When I first step into Little India, I was welcome by a flock of pigeons. I thought that was really interesting as I could hardly find so many pigeons anywhere else in Singapore.
Every street has their own unique pigeons. However one thing I realised is the amount of pigeons goes according to how populated the area is. The more the pigeons there seemed to be. As this isn’t a tourist attraction like ST. Mark’s Square and its famous pigeons, I imagine instead that its because these pigeons are a lucky charm for the community. The crowds flock here simply to be in the presence of their lucky animal in hopes that some of that good fortune will rub off on them.
While walking down the streets of Little India, I noticed alot of wall arts and it all represents the Indian culture. Therefore I thought I could incorporate some Indian culture elements.
And Henna prints struck me in a good way to represent the liveliness of Little India. As it represents the India culture and is a used for celebration. I thought by adding these henna prints on the bird it would be clearer to identify that they are the lucky charms of Little India. Therefore, the patterns illustrated are inspired by the henna prints.
* I came across this image online. And I thought it emphasis my concept of pigeons being the lucky charm. Elephants are known as the lucky animal in hindu culture.
Zine/ Artist Research
Zine Process
Process 1: I felt that the third pigeon is distracting. The focus seems to be on it instead.
Final: I remove the third pigeon on the cover page as I thought it was a little distracting. I want to keep the cover page simple, as the focus is the prints on the pigeons. I added some dots at the back cover to make the entire book more consistent.
Process 1 : After printing, I realised that the fonts are way too big. And that there should be hierarchy. If not everything looks too flat.
Final : I add geometric shapes as part of my design elements. I play with the different sizes and line weights to create hierarchy and to show more contrast in the images. I make changes to the font size.
Process 1: The image is spread across both spreads. After consultation, I realised that the block number is too distracting and the focus is not on the pigeons.
Process 2: I zoom into the pigeons so that audience can focus on the main object. I also added more shapes that are similar from the previous page so that it will have the same consistency throughout and to make the layout more fun and interesting.
Final : I tilt the words to make it in line with the heading. After much adjustments, I am satisfied with the layout.
Process 1: I felt that the last spread is do not have the same consistency as the previous pages, because it is too packed. I thought by reducing it to 3-4 patterns would be better.
Process 2: The placing of words needs some minor adjustments.
Final: The main focus in this page is the patterns. However, I still want the same consistency therefore I use lesser shapes to avoid drawing too much attention away from the image.
Takeaway