Final AWOL Zine

This is the final version of the AWOL zine; I thought it was successful because even though all the work is different and contains everyone’s own signature style it manages to flow nicely as a collaboration, which was our initial goal. I found all the double page spreads complemented each other; none of them clashed. I like the middle double page spread in the center of the zine, I thought having the text running across the two pages really made it shout out at you, it is simple but effective in catching the viewer’s attention.

A1 Exhibition Posters

Here are our posters that we intend to exhibit in the show next to our zines. We wanted the A1 presentation to be quite simple so that the focus within the space would be on the zines. To emphasis this we all collaborated to create 3 A3 posters for the space. All three are monochrome except the first image. I thought this poster reflected our attitude towards unit x, we wanted to do it our own individual ways but together and I feel we achieved that. The second poster depicts the members of AWOL. We wanted to have fun with depicting ourselves for this poster so we all dressed up in any wacky items we could find. We made the image black/white and layered a piece of acetate paper onto with a black strip across  ourselves to hide our identities, that way the viewer would have to interact with our space and lift the acetate to reveal who AWOL is.

AWOL extras

Having collected items around the Northern Quarter we thought it would be a nice idea to have the zine come with extras. I personally like collecting postcards/ posters/ inserts of design artwork and stick them up on my wall,  so we thought it would be more interactive and interesting these items accompanying the zine. We thought a strong illustration would be best for the poster as the final edited zine didn't contain any pure illustrations. John created these quirky and comical designs ( middle image) that depict the sisters from the motion picture 'The Shining' as hipsters. As for the postcards we used all the left over designs that didn't make it into the final zine, this meant that everyone's work was included and would be seen at the exhibition. Looking back on our research of zines, we referenced OWT creative's issue#8 'Love & Hate' for it's presentation of the zine and decided to use brown paper bags to hold all of the extras as well as the final zine. I thought this was great way put everything together and the bags make it more personal.

Putting it together

These images depict the process of putting the final zines together using the large guillotine and staple binder. We wanted the binding to be simple, clean and time efficient so this process was best for us. I thought the finished look of the zine was clear and professional. Our primary factor was the importance of the designs within the zine, they needed to be clear,crisp and the focal point of the viewer's attention. We kept it simple by printing onto white cartridge paper (115mg for the inside page and 200mg for the cover).

Printing nightmares

We decided to create an inside house publication instead of going through the Newspaper club so we had to manage our own printing. With the help of the pagination lecture Ben gave us previously we were able to print off the actual zine quite easily however within the zine there are 2 pages that consist of designs printed onto transparent paper, this caused a few problems. Amy and Alex collaborated to create these great designs, we wanted them to be on transparent paper so that the pattern of sweets and pills featured on the other side (inside) of the front and back cover would be visible. The main difficulty with the printing was that the laser printers in the art school couldn't process the job because the transparent paper was too thin thus causing it to overheat. After wasting a lot of print credits on these print outs that went wrong Amy had to use her small printer at home that managed to print off these designs successfully with all the colours in tact.

Zine page selection

The top image depicts all the work submitted to be a part of the AWOL zine. In a democratic fashion we pinned everyone's work on the board and then each person was allowed to pick 2 of their favorite pieces. After the pieces were selected we made sure that everyone in the group had a least 1 design in the zine. I thought this was the best was to edit the work as everyone had produced lots of designs. This way everyone who was attended that day not only had a piece of work but also had an input as to which other designs would feature in the zine. On the other hand it was a difficult process at the same time due to a couple of members of AWOL being absent  for this decision and most part of the project. Therefore we could only select the designs that were put on the board that day.

The photo booth photos above were taken on our trip to the Northern Quarter in Fred aldous, initially we wanted to incorporate these into the zine however other members of AWOL were no present. We thought it would be unfair to include these in the zine which I thought was quite unfortunate because the film on the far right is quite comical.

OWT

OWT creative is an interdisciplinary design group based in Manchester. They work with print, web, film, bookbinding, curating and art directing. In addition to the this they collaborate with other artists to create monthly fanzines. I find their zines to be really eye catching and diverse; no pages are alike. The front covers of the issues are very dynamic and incorporate different techniques and processes such as screen print and risograph that create bold effects. These bold statements catch the viewers attention and encourages them to pick up the zine. One of my favorite fanzines is issue#8 'Love & Hate' I thought it was great how the pieces in the zines corresponded to each other but related to contrasting theme. This zine actually inspired us to incorporate the theme of negativity and positivity towards the Northern Quarter into our unit x zine. I liked the double page by Simon Meredith in issue#10 'Displacement' in particular ( Second image) I thought it was a really striking piece of design. The way he has manipulated the buildings is similar to Monika Traikov collages because he has incorporated shapes into the composition. However after this manipulation the edges of the buildings within the shape connect to the others outside it creating a sense of movement as if the buildings are transforming.

Takashi Homma:Tokyo and my Daughter

This zine titled Tokyo and my Daughter was created by Tokyo based photographer Takashi Homma. In his photographs he depicts the urban cityscapes of Tokyo and well as documenting his daughter from being a toddler to a little girl. I’m a big fan of documentary photography because they give you an insight to other people’s lives. I find Homma’s photographic style in this zine has a sense of calmness to it, creating a strong contrast to the energy and chaos of Tokyo. The double page spread layout for photographs works really well as the image can be larger and enables sequential images (Bottom image). Homma’s use of sequence in his photography enhances the feeling of being in the moment; he sets a scene. I think documenting the Northern Quarter through photographs is a great way of re-creating the place for the viewer. One double page spread containing a photograph would create a nice break within the AWOL zine.

Le Gun

Le Gun is a London based collective of designers and illustrators who are well known for their zine publications that consist of mix media pieces created by famous and unknown creatives of the art world. What attracted me to Le Gun and what I believe to be one of their strongest selling points is their guerrilla approach to design. Their designs are bold and in your face however they all complement each other in their publications. Each design is different and has its own personal identity within the publication without disrupting the flow of the viewing experience; I feel that this approach would really suit our AWOL zine. Furthermore I really like the layout of their zines, the double page spreads creates more of an impact and gives a more complete view to the design. I think it work particularly well with text, the message is communicated in a faster and bolder fashion.

Shoboshobo: Aaron/Benjamin

Shoboshobo, real name Mehdi Hercberg is a Paris based artist. His work is very varied, many include: illustration, graphic artwork, clothes design, music and editorials. Hercberg’s graphic artwork was included in Nieves zines 2012 box set, which was documented by It’s nice that’s March issue. He created these intricate pieces that depict deformed monsters. I really like how detailed his drawings are because he creates texture within his pieces, particularly in the top and middle designs. This detail combined with the monochrome colour scheme make the creatures depicted look even more gruesome. In all three of the designs there is also a sense of movement and fluidity within the composition making the design almost entwined with itself, this incorporated with the added effect of texture re-enforces the deformity of the creatures.

AWOL Zine Designs

 

 

Taking on board what failed in the previous designs when working with the eccentric man. I tried rearranging the placement of the replicas to avoid that propaganda poster look. I overexposed the images so not all of his face is visible then used different colours to add some energy to the composition. I think it worked really well the image no longer looked like a propaganda poster and the colours add a sense of fun. Furthermore I like where the faces meet in the centre because they flow in to each other due to the overexposure effect.

AWOL Zine Designs

 

 

Whilst taking photographs around the Northern Quarter, we meet this man (featured in these designs) who just stopped and started performing almost and saying all sorts of random things. The Northern Quarter is full of such eccentric characters like him so I really wanted to use him in a few of my designs. Using Photoshop I repeated his head several times and increased the threshold to create a screen print effect. I really like the composition however I think it looks like a propaganda poster. At first I thought it could have been the image being in black and white contributing to the propaganda style so I added another colour which I thought made a slight difference. The colour adds vibrancy to the design however I feel the propaganda element is still there; it may be the style of repetition which makes it look like some kind of army poster. In addition to this I feel that this would have been more successful if had screen printed the image myself, however it was not possible to get an induction this time in the academic year.

 



AWOL Zine Designs

 

For this design I looked at the theme identity. One of the great things about the Northern Quarter is how welcoming it is to all sorts of people and many find it a place that celebrates originality and individuality. With this in mind I used one of Nicki’s photographs that depicted a young person working in the Afflecks palace, he had a very creative look so I combined his photograph with another image of a neon shop sign to create the design. Using Photoshop I changed Nicki’s picture to black and white and cropped it so all that remained was the boy’s head. I took out his eyes and multiplied his head to make him look like some kind of creature. Taking the neon sign I simple used the magic wand tool in order to separate it from the rest of the image. I decided not to tidy up the sign with the eraser tool as I quite liked the peeling effect that was created. I wanted the image to respond to how accepting the Northern Quarter is of individuals which is why I wanted to manipulate the face. I like the effects created for the neon open sign however, I do think I could have been more experimental with manipulating/distorting the face.

AWOL Zine Designs

For these two designs I returned to the cut out circle design but experimented with filling the circle with another image. For the first design (top) I used another photograph I had taken whilst in the Northern Quarter. I chose that photograph because it consists of the quirky and recognisable sculpture that is situated outside the Afflecks palace. I liked the idea of have two images in one however these two images clash as there is too much going on. I remember looking at some of Joseba Elorza’s work and commenting on his use of colour when combining two photographs. The colours from both images complement creating a harmonious composition. I feel this was the main downfall of my design; the colours don’t complement each other which then disrupts the aesthetical look of the piece.

I feel there is a strong contrast between the Northern Quarter and the rest of the city centre; it can feel as though you’re on a different plant. Taking this concept on board I incorporated a moon into my images to re-enforce the concept of the Northern Quarter being a different planet with it’s own moon. Referring back to the previous experiment that depicted the photograph of the bikes cropped in to a circle, I took the same image and layered an image of a moon on top using a low opacity. I thought the image is simple but quite interesting. I particularly like the hazy effect the layering created; it distorts the image in a subtle way that forces the viewer concentrate in order to decode what they are looking at.