How time flies in a blink of an eye and It is time to work on our final project, project 3 on ZINES!

I have never heard of Zines before and I was really curious about what this project was all about when it was briefed to us. I learned that Zines are personal, self-published, non-commercial publications done by individuals for many reasons. It sounded exciting to me as it could be anything I wanted as it was an independent publication! We were encouraged to expand on our previous works done in semester 1 or/and 2. I thought that this was a great way to wrap up year1 2D foundation module for everyone!

I went back home to research about Zines and came across this phase:
“Zine making isn’t about rules or knowledge; it’s about freedom and power!”
I learned that zines are the cheapest, easiest and fastest way to get your message across widely. Also, they usually deal with topics too controversial or niche for mainstream media, presented in an unpolished layout and unusual design. I love the freedom about Zines!

 

IDEALIZATION!

I have 2 initial ideas. I titled them: “Voice for the Voiceless”. There were:
1. People with Down Syndrome (follow up on project 2)
2. Animals (Strays in Singpore)

I have decided to work on idea 1 as I thought that I should narrow down and concentrate on a single issue.
It is a follow up on my previous project which is the point of view of my brother, David. However, this time I would be concentrating on people with Down Syndrome in general!

I will be elaborating on what my zine is all about in the later post!

 

Art Direction

I wanted to lighten this topic by making my zine more childlike. I would also make use of photography in my zine!

The paper used to print is 160gsm off white paper!

Theme: Undercover Secret Agent! I have decided to transform David into a secret agent in this project!

Cover page:
I was going for a rustic and old look for my zine’s cover page. Either in a form of a diary or a case file!

Fold:
After a session with a local artist and the founder of Nestled Ellipsis during class, I learned about several types or methods of book binding and was particularly interested in the method called the accordion bind as this was suitable for zines with few pages! I went on and did a prototype of an accordion fold inside a diary file below.

 

DIARY INSPIRATION

PERSONAL TAKE on Diary File and Accordion Fold

However, I scrap the idea of using the accordion fold as the sequence did not match the way I wanted to present my work and how my viewers view my zine. I could not control which side of the fold my viewers would view first with the accordion fold hence I did not quite like that idea.

Therefore, I went to explore more on zine binding methods and settled on using the open gate fold method! This prototype can be seen within the case file I have also attempted to make! Below:

CASE FILE INSPIRATION

PERSONAL TAKE on Case File and Open Gate Fold

 

I have also tried making a mini prototype of the Zine’s Simple 8 page book But I did not like the the fact that there would be a cut out in the middle of the paper when opened fully. Below:

 

PERSONAL TAKE ON the Simple 8 Page Book Binding Method:

 

PHOTOGRAPHY! 

I had fun taking many pictures of my brother and here are the final 4 I have selected out from the bunch!
Before and after edits for:

Doctor David:

 

Mr David:

 

 

Actor David:

Officer David:

  

Poster Design!
The poster would be revealed at the very last page.

I would be including the Down Syndrome Awareness Ribbon in the composition.

Below are the photography images I have trouble choosing but thought that the first image was most suitable to my zine theme which involves different job profiles. These images were taken during a Down Syndrome event last year!

 (In formal wear)

 

 

Here are some prototypes that I have printed before I went for the actual printing.
My first one came out really dark which made me panic but was relieved when a friend told me the reason why it turned out dark. Reason was because I did not set my files to CMYK.

 

Below is the test print prototype at the printing shop itself!

 

Agent 47 is wearing the same outfit throughout all 4 job profiles. This is to show how he is able to jump around in these different jobs and have the capabilities of them 4.

With simple surrounding graphics added to illustrate the context of each job, this shows us the very innocent and light-hearted interpretation from his vision of the world. This is again in line with the raw vibe of the zine.

The tapes seen on the top and bottom of all job profile compositions are in blue and yellow. This was also deliberate as the Down Syndrome awareness ribbon is yellow and blue in colour.