Creativity rules!
One of the things that make zines so interesting is the vast array of design variations out there.
I have just finished cataloguing a cute little zine called The midday train from Melbourne to Geelong : Sunday 1st April 2007, which caught my attention due to its use of folding and 2 cuts to achieve an end result of a booklet roughly 7cm square.
Midday train from Melbourne to GeelongUnfolded and placed flat, one side of the page forms a map whilst the folded version is a picture of the author’s trip from Melbourne to Geelong by train which has been hand drawn in pencil and is really detailed.
Midday train from Melbourne to GeelongAnother zine to make use of zine folding tricks is The laugh of the stri(p)ped hyena, which is a selectively cut and folded A3 page that forms a 6 page booklet and a single readable page when unfolded.
Now these aren’t the only zines I’ve ever come across which have been interesting because of how they were presented or due to added extras. I’ve seen zines such as Little sticks which is a set of 15, 10 x 15 cm typed cards, Lolocaust included a CD containing a PDF version of the zine plus some songs from bands I had never heard of. Leslie Aberland’s Lil bit of spice… included things such as home made cards, post-it notes, a mini zine containing a recipe and surprise envelopes.
Another way zines are made interesting is through the use of binding or multiple versions. A map which interrupts itself by Emma Davidson is just one example. Emma made 2 versions of this zine, the first a hand bound edition using various stock papers which she sold. Later she reproduced the same zine but using a simpler more zine-like look and this version was given away for free.
Zines are a great way to let your inner creative genius out. There are no hard and fast rules, you can be a totally free spirit, not only in the content of your zine but also in how it looks. You don’t even need to make a lot of them if you don’t want to. Many zinesters due to the complexity of their zine, or because they want to keep their zine exclusive, only produce a limited number of each issue they make. Nor is it necessary for your zine to be perfect with many zine makers leaving typos and other errors in the zine to add to its charm and individuality. So if you want to try your hand at making a zine but don’t know how to get start then try a Google search of ‘zine making’ and see what comes up, or drop into your local zine distro and be inspired!
I have just finished cataloguing a cute little zine called The midday train from Melbourne to Geelong : Sunday 1st April 2007, which caught my attention due to its use of folding and 2 cuts to achieve an end result of a booklet roughly 7cm square.
Midday train from Melbourne to GeelongMidday train from Melbourne to GeelongNow these aren’t the only zines I’ve ever come across which have been interesting because of how they were presented or due to added extras. I’ve seen zines such as Little sticks which is a set of 15, 10 x 15 cm typed cards, Lolocaust included a CD containing a PDF version of the zine plus some songs from bands I had never heard of. Leslie Aberland’s Lil bit of spice… included things such as home made cards, post-it notes, a mini zine containing a recipe and surprise envelopes.
Another way zines are made interesting is through the use of binding or multiple versions. A map which interrupts itself by Emma Davidson is just one example. Emma made 2 versions of this zine, the first a hand bound edition using various stock papers which she sold. Later she reproduced the same zine but using a simpler more zine-like look and this version was given away for free.
Zines are a great way to let your inner creative genius out. There are no hard and fast rules, you can be a totally free spirit, not only in the content of your zine but also in how it looks. You don’t even need to make a lot of them if you don’t want to. Many zinesters due to the complexity of their zine, or because they want to keep their zine exclusive, only produce a limited number of each issue they make. Nor is it necessary for your zine to be perfect with many zine makers leaving typos and other errors in the zine to add to its charm and individuality. So if you want to try your hand at making a zine but don’t know how to get start then try a Google search of ‘zine making’ and see what comes up, or drop into your local zine distro and be inspired!
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