littledesignjournal

[littledesignjournal]

B E E N   T H E R E    Z I N E   T H A T

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Today was the day of exhibiting our zines and I am taken aback at everyone’s creativity. It is just purely amazing looking at all the individualism seen in the designs and how no two zines were alike. I think everyone did an amazing job exploring their artist and also their own individual styles! <3 

R E F L E C T I O N

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At the beginning of the year when I saw the course name ‘communication design studies’, I almost had a sour taste in my mouth as the name just sounded bland and reminded me of all the all-nighters that I had to pull in order to complete VCE VCD... However as of today, I can say with confidence that this course has been one of the most enjoyable art/design related class I have ever taken. 

My main objective at the start of the year was to simply learn the skills that I had hoped for, but by the end, I have gained so much more than that. Along the way I have met so many people and made countless new friends. Through the lectures I now have a much better and in-depth understanding of different art history, culture and practice. Through the more ‘hands on’ classes, running around the university taking photos of objects (which earned quite a new stares and raised eyebrows from students of other courses...oops :p) and enjoying group actives has taught me all the different aspects of teamwork. 

I think this course has definitely taught me a lot about myself and the things to improve on. Through my choice of artworks, art style and layout, I feel like I have a much better understanding of the designs that I like. I have also learnt about the importance of time management and developed appreciation for zine and publishing designs, something that I was never truly introduced to before. I think the next step is to push myself out of my comfort zone and be even more creative on how I think, design and produce. 

But most of all, this course has taught me how to work hard and how to have fun while doing so ~

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Total posts : 32

Original posts (research, WIP,  documentation) : 23

Reblogs (student) : 3 

Reblogs (non-student) : 5

07.06.2019

[littledesignjournal]

F I N A L   Z I N E

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This is the final zine design! I think overall I am quire happy with how it turned out. 

• After speaking to Andy in the early classes about remaining a very minimalistic layout to accompany works, I think it has definitely worked in the favour of the artworks. As I tried playing around with different materials, it was taking a lot of the attention away from the breathtakingly detailed and emotions works of Qing, which I think should definitely be the focal point for each pages. 

• I ended up going with Japanese binding as the other binding despite was strong, did not have a very clean visual which I don't think went well with the overall layout of my zine. 

• As Qing uses a lot of social media to post her artworks,  I wanted to show that aspect in the zine through showing comments found on her pages and also embedding a QR code to her Youtube account where you will be able to see the amazing process from start to finish. 

• I think one aspect I could definitely improve on is how creative/interactive the design could be. Although I am liking the simple design to go with her artworks, looking back at it I think I could had definitely go out of my comfort zone and try new ways of conveying information. 

• In addition, I think the paper is a bit hard for my liking and you have to physically hold the pages so that it stays open... These are definitely points that I have encountered and will learn from. 

~ 

I will send these photos to Qin and I hope she likes how the zine turned out!

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07.06.2019

[littledesignjournal]

P R I N T I N G

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I got my zine printed at Officeworks today and am overall happy with the results. However many of the pages did not align exactly when printed double sided so I will have to cut them down to the right size. Thankfully none of my text or images were placed too close to the edge. 

In addition, the transparent pages did not came out exactly as expected and I had to change the typography/colour of the text but the problem was later resolved.

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06.06.2019

[littledesignjournal]

M O C K   U P # 2

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Instead of a Japanese binding which I had trouble with the string falling due to the thickness of the pages, I tried a more freehand style binding using string. The idea behind it is that it is less neat and more similar to how a wound in stitched (symbolising the heart surgery). I find that this style appears to be slightly more secure but a bit too messy looking for my liking. 

I think I might do something to combine the two styles in my final zine. 

I also tried playing around with changing up the materials/paper used within the zine. However after speaking to Andy in class, he advised me not to use too many different aspects as at least for my artist, the artworks should be the main focal point. Putting in too much can sometimes diverse the focal point too much and the layout can become very messy, “less is more” he said.  I will definitely keep this in mind. 

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28.05.2019

[littledesignjournal]

M O C K   U P  # 1

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I have tried a quick mock up printed with my own printer at home. The colours turned out much lighter than anticipated and a bit different from the original files but I think I quite like the pastel look. For the final I definitely still want to get my zine printed professionally as I had to cut out and glue everything together. My own printer at home only prints single pages. 

Whilst browsing the web I found a style of binding called ‘Japanese binding’ that uses strings to bind the pages together. As this was my first time doing any binding, it was a little confusing in the beginning but I found it much easier the more I played with it. 

I think I will go with this binding style as it gives the zine a very DIY vibe and the strings correlates well with the idea of Qing’s heart surgeries. 

Japanese binding link : https://www.google.com/search?q=Japanese+binding&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjz67r619TiAhXCdCsKHSrWC1oQ_AUIECgB&biw=1440&bih=749#imgrc=ujv8WadFzN0s-M:

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27.05.2019

[littledesignjournal]

W O R K   I N   P R O G R E S S 

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In the past 2 weeks we have been working on some sample zines in class. After learning about some basic formats and compositions,  I attempted to make my own but failed at printing it correctly. I will relook over my printer details and try a second attempt. 

 I’m also trialing with coming up with my own layouts and not use the format provided. 

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25.05.2019

[littledesignjournal]

Been go to the local shops and NGV browsing through some exisiting magazines trying to find inspirations ~ 

[littledesignjournal]

I really like the use of composition for this zine design. 

Most of the elements within the illustration features long vertical lines which compliments nicely with the vertical typography layout. I find it very clean and calming to look at. The use of unsaturated hues in the illustration furthermore helps to establish the mood. 

2018・11月出版的新活水雜誌最新號： 「大家說母語 (Let’s talk in mother tongue)」中的「跨域對寫」專欄裡，邀請了LGBT作家楊隸亞與楊邦尼撰寫，並由我所繪製插畫作品。

[littledesignjournal]

Z I N E    R E S E A R C H

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I have now received all the materials needed to start designing my zine. Qing has been kind enough to have answered all of my questions, provided links to her works and also sent through a selfie to be included in the artist profile. 

I have also conducted a little bit of research regarding zine’s history such as the handmade aesthetic look was shaped by mimeograph and copy machines. I think a more DIY approach on my zine would work especially well regarding Qing’s experience and I will brainstorm further into how I can translate her life story with surgeries and art into my zine design. 

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15.05.2019 

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Image links : 

Zine examples : https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/zine-and-done-it-8300830.html

Mimeograph : http://negarpontifiles.blogspot.com/2009/12/i-remember-it-vividly.html 

[littledesignjournal]

I M A G E    A N D    T Y P O G R A P H Y 

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I was particularly inspired by the image that depicted the difference between premodern, modern and postmodern in today’s lecture. I think in nowadays people are drawn towards designs that are unique and expressive in its own individual ways. I feel that people are also more open to experiments, trials and thinking outside the box. 

In class we photocopied many magazine pages and looked for typography made out of different images. In addition, we were also taught on some basic zine layouts and foldings. 

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10.05.2019

[littledesignjournal]

A N S W E R S   R E C E I V E 

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I have received the answers for my questions. Qing was kind enough to have answered all of my questions (10) and I will now pick the most relevant questions to be included into my zine. 

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10.05.2019

[littledesignjournal]

R E P L Y   R E C E I V E D

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Out of the three artists I have contacted, Qing (Qinniart) has replied back agreeing to be interviewed. 

I will do some research regarding the artist herself as well as her art and her field of practice in preparation and then send her the five questions. 

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02.05.2019

[littledesignjournal]

who is jason todd?

[littledesignjournal]

M A G A Z I N E   C O V E R S   L A Y O U T    I N S P I R A T I O N S

Lana Del Rey Magazine Covers (2017)

1. Dazed 2. ELLE 3. Flaunt  4. V 5.  Les Inrockuptibles 6. NME 7. Complex 8. Grazia 9. Vanity Fair  10. Billboard

[littledesignjournal]

N O   P R O G R E S S . . . 

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I have contacted two artists so far but has not received any reply yet. As it has been a while since the assignment was given and I want to have plenty of time to conduct my interview and complete my magazine, I think I will contact the remaining three artists at the same time. Hopefully at least one will reply. 

In the meantime I will also be looking at other potential artists I could interview in case I do not receive any response. 

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24.04.2019

[littledesignjournal]

A S K   M E   A N Y T H I N G   A R T I S T   L I S T

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After going through my social media account, I have came up with these artists who I could potentially request for an interview. I have selected them as I either am also very passionate regarding their chosen theme/subject matter, their style or that I am curious on how they develop and work.

I think I will contact the artists one by one and giving them 3 days to respond. If I do not receive a reply, I will try to contact any to ensure I will have enough time to conduct my interviews and create my magazine.

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20/04/2019

[littledesignjournal]

E X I S T I N G   A R T   I N T E R V I E W   R E S E A R C H 

ART SCHOOL | INTERVIEW WITH JON CARLING

Scratchy black and white drawings and the ink meanderings of artist Jon Carling have always caught our eye. They’re like something out of a weird dream or out of an ancient children’s book–,and they’re always captivating. We’ve been following his prolific drawing career for a long time and recently caught up with Jon to find out more about his inspirations, his early artistic influences, and his recent dip into animating his beautiful works. 

Photographs courtesy of the artist. 

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