Earth Artifact - Development by Molly Deakin

[ EARTH ARTIFACT ] [ DEVELOPMENT ] [ FOUNDATION STUDIO PRACTICE / TFD1411 ] [ MOLLY DEAKIN ]

[ ZINES ] AS A FORM OF DISPLAYING INFO

After researching in to magazines as a way of displaying information I feel that the idea of a ‘Zine’ is most appropriate for the type of information in which i am planning to display and how i want to display it. A Zine s most commonly a small circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images. The aim of a Zine - to me - is to be able to broadcast information on anything in an artistic and stylistic way which relates to the topic inside. For example Zines played an important role in spreading information about different scenes in the punk era (Such as British fanzines like Mark Ferry’s Sniffin Glue and Shane MacGowan’s Bondage).

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

Molly Deakin

Development

With my concept of creating a collection of 6 magazines - each one based on giving a brief insight in to each of Earth’s continents - I have decided to further stem

my knowledge of what could make this concept easily readable and understandable to any outside life who was to approach it. I feel I can do this by experimenting with the main components of a ‘Zine style’. After all Zines have shown themselves to be one of the most popular ways of displaying information in today’s culture. The components I am going to experiment with in order to create my own zine style of documenting information are Covers & Packaging, Navigation, and Format & Structure. I feel that by looking at what is involved with each of these components and then relating it to my own work i will then be able to show the information i want in a way which will be accessible to any one who was to approach it.

[ COVERS & PACKAGING ]

let the cover follow the design and art direction of the title in general. The covers are therefore the ‘looks’ of these magazines and are many and varied, distinct and recognisable. In many cases to show whoever is going to read the magazine what to expect inside. I intend to take this approach on when designing my own zine.

1 | PACKAGING EXPERIMENTATION [Boxing, Wrapping, etc.] 2 | COVER DESIGN EXPERIMENTATION

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

Molly Deakin

Development

Many of the most popular magazines of our time have found popularity through using a traditional way to cover their work - a traditional layout and overall design in favour for a more creative, clean and visually pleasing approach. One of the reasons for this is is that the readers know they are not fighting to compete with similar titles and don’t have to shout on the outside about what is inside, but can

[ PACKAGING EXPERIMENTATION ]

holder style that you can slide the 6 magazines in to and can see the spines of each one. This design makes it clear and easy to see the zine you are choosing to read.

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

Molly Deakin

Development

When deciding how i wanted to package my collection of zines, I was instantly drawn to boxes that would keep them held together. I then decided on two designs that I thought would work best for this type of project. One is a folder style that has 3 flaps that fold in to itself and over the magazines inside and then has a a4 size flap that closes it up and then ties to secure it. The second is a magazine/file

then folded it in the gaps between the mount board panels and the structure was finished. From there I then used velcro as a closure solution as I wanted it to be descrete. I then used gold and black Letraset transfer lettering to create the type on the folder making sure the whole thing was kept minimalist and simple to incorporate with the magazines. I decided to use gold for the inside of the folder and for the title to relate back to the original Voyager Golden records. Im really happy with the result, I feel like it looks really professional and looks really good alongside my collection of magazines.

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

Molly Deakin

Development

When making the folder to package my collection of magazines I started with a white sheet of mount board and made 7 panels. 2 for the front and back of the folder, 2 spine panels and 3 for the flaps of the folder. I then stuck these on top of a white sheet of card with a 2cm gap between all of them for room for folding. I then cute around the card and mount board to the measurements of the folder. I then stuck gold card on top of mount board, with the white card on the bottom and then cut around the same shape and measurements. When all 3 layers were stuck together, the mount board, the white card and the gold card, I

[ COVER DESIGN EXPERIMENTATION ]

me experimenting with images and different typefaces but it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to have as much of an impact or and informative as the cover was with a very simple and neutral theme. I also wanted to contain a lot of information on the cover to explain what each one was about and the purpose of the zines.

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

Molly Deakin

Development

For the cover of each of my zines I knew straight away that I wanted them to all be the same with just the slight difference between the 6 of them of the title and issue number. This is because I felt as a collection they would look better and more professional together if they were the same. I then knew that it would be best to keep them all very simple and straight forward. This was due to

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

7 Molly Deakin

Development

[ NAVIGATION ]

hand page. As well as divider pages designers often use methods to indicate section breaks or changes of pace and flow. These can range from a change in type face, to tinting the pages, to the use of different paper stocks, to alternating full colour and black and white printing.

Divider pages guide the reader through the zine. They are used to signal the beginning or end of a section. They can take the form of - for example - a double page spread of a single image, or a single image on the left of a double paged spread with the feature beginning on the right

I intend to experiment in a variety of ways as to how I can create a simple and easy navigation throughout my set of zines. After all that is the main focus of the Zines - to be easily navigational as we are not certain that everyone who encounters them will be able to fully understand them.

1 | PAGINATION EXPERIMENTATION [Use of Divider Pages] 2 | CONTENTS PAGE DESIGN EXPERIMENTATION 3 | PAGE NUMBERING EXPERIMENTS

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

Molly Deakin

Development

Zine navigation is what gives the designer the opportunity to direct the reader through any given publication. It is also a way of informing the reader of what is in the zine and what is coming up next. The contents page for instance gives the running order of each item featured.

[ PAGINATION EXPERIMENTATION ]

to navigate themselves through a magazine. I therefore began exploring without images and just using a simple title showing which chapter was coming up next, rather than using a title on the actual pages as I felt this would break it up and allow the reader to take their time whilst understanding the zine.

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

Molly Deakin

Development

When deciding how I was going to divide up the sections of my zine I Instantly recognised using a clear divider page as a way to separate the sections or chapters within my zines. I then experimented with how i would do this. I felt like something simple would work best due to the zine being aimed at any unintelligent life who may find it difficult

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

10 Molly Deakin

Development

[ CONTENTS PAGE DESIGN ]

began exploring without images and just using a simple title showing which chapter was coming up next, rather than using a title on the actual pages as I felt this would break it up and allow the reader to take their time whilst understanding the zine.

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

Molly Deakin

Development

When deciding how I was going to divide up the sections of my zine I Instantly recognised using a clear divider page as a way to separate the sections or chapters within my zines. I then experimented with how I would do this. I felt like something simple would work best due to the zine being aimed at any unintelligent life who may find it difficult to navigate themselves through a magazine. I therefore

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

12 Molly Deakin

Development

[ PAGE NUMBERING EXPERIMENTATION ]

felt that using a line as a stand for the number would help the reader notice the page number and hopefully let there eye follow the page a lot more than it would if there was to just be a number there on its own.

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

Molly Deakin

Development

When deciding how to number each individual page of my zines I decided it would be best to design them in accordance to the rest of the design of the divider pages and text boxes etc. So I therefore looked at the use of lines, and dotted lines as a base to where the number would sit in the corner of the bottom of each page. I also

[ FORMAT & STRUCTURE ]

stimulating aspect of design. Therefore i intend for the images within my zine to be striking enough to be able to do the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;talkingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and to control the type within the page as we do not know that whoever was to be in contact with the zine would be able to read. However i also want type to be prominent just in-case.

1 | LAYOUT EXPERIMENTATION & PROPOSALS 2 | TYPEFACE REVIEWS 3 | LABEL EXPERIMENTATION

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

Molly Deakin

Development

A key element to a zine is how the images and type work together to create the format and structure. There are many factors which must be successful in order for good communication throughout the zine. The It should be clear but at the same time needs to be interesting, engaging, and suited to the subject them. For many zines it is the photography that offer the most visually pleasing and

[ LAYOUT EXPERIMENTATION & PROPOSALS ]

overwhelmed by the amount of design on the page. I also wanted to use a very basic colour pallet as I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want it to look like there was too much. Maybe using black and white imagery with a slight pop of colour in the text box outlines etc.

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

Molly Deakin

Development

With the layout and design of the actual pages of my zines I took inspiration from magazines which have an individual way of showing images and text together and relating them in an individual way without just using columns of text and a image guide at the side. I wanted to create a lot of space so that the information could be taken in rather than feeling

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

16 Molly Deakin

Development

[ TYPEFACE REVIEWS ]

[ BODYCOPY ]

[ LUCIDA GRANDE ]

Helvetica is probably the most commonly used typeface in all of graphic design, and almost certainly the most widely used sans serif. I feel like it is quite a neutral” typeface, in that it takes on the mood and attitude of its surroundings, and it also has the nicest kerning and letter forms out of the 3 fonts i have chosen. It is probably the most versatile typeface out of the three as It’s literally suitable for virtually any kind of design application, and looks good at both large and small sizes.

Avenir is a geometric sans-serif typeface and was designed to be a more humanistic version of traditional geometric typefaces like Futura. It carries simplicity and balance and bridges the gap between geometric and humanist sans-serifs, making it a versatile, modern choice. Avenir is suitable for both headline and body copy. Improvements in hinting have made it better for on-screen viewing at smaller sizes.

Lucida Sans is a humanist, sans-serif typeface that is part of the larger Lucida type family, It is highly legible, even at small sizes, therefore they could be heavily used for body copy and large blocks of small text.

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Molly Deakin

[ AVENIR ]

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

[ HELVETICA ]

Development

For the body copy of my zine I am looking for a versatile font which looks good at a really small pt. size but can be made a little larger and yet still seem effective. I am aiming to find a typeface which carries simplicity and balance in a paragraph and not seem ‘all over the place’.

[ UPPERCASE - ESPACIO ]

48pt

ESPACIO

24pt

ESPACIO

10pt

ESPACIO

Development

ESPACIO

I am looking for a typeface to use as a so called ‘house font’ to use for all titles, sub-titles, and large text used within my zine. I am hoping to find something simple and neutral but sits quite boldly in front of imagery. I also want the type face to ideally be sans serif and quite spaced out so it is readable.

Espace is a serif font with a rather thin exposure. I feel like it first caught my eye as quite simple and not very structured which may have been easy to read to everybody. But I have now come to notice that the typeface doesn’t look as understandable in a smaller pt size and therefore isn’t suitable for a zine of my interest.

Molly Deakin

72pt

18pt

ESPACIO

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

100pt

[ UPPERCASE - ROBOTO THIN ]

24pt

18pt

10pt

ROBOTO THIN Development

48pt

ROBOTO THIN ROBOTO THIN

ROBOTO THIN

I am looking for a typeface to use as a so called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;house fontâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to use for all titles, sub-titles, and large text used within my zine. I am hoping to find something simple and neutral but sits quite boldly in front of imagery. I also want the type face to ideally be sans serif and quite spaced out so it is readable.

Roboto Thin is a really simple and thinly set typeface which is easy to read in both larger and smaller pt sizes. I felt it might have been suitable as a house font as it is quite basic and will carry well with a simple layout - what I am aiming for with my zine. However I wish it could have been a little bit thicker so I could use it in front of bold images and it could stand out more rather than fade away in front of it, which I think this font may do.

Molly Deakin

72pt

ROBOTO THIN

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

100pt

[ UPPERCASE - NORMAFIXED TRYOUT ]

NORMAFIXED TRYOUT

48pt

NORMAFIXED TRYOUT

24pt

NORMAFIXED TRYOUT

18pt

NORMAFIXED TRYOUT

Normafixed Tryout is a really nicely spaced out typeface with a lot of structure that I feel will look really good in both larger and smaller pt sizes. I feel like it is as effective in simpleness as other fonts I have experimented with but is a little thicker and more structured - something that will look good both on a plain page and in front of an image

Molly Deakin

Development

72pt

10pt

NORMAFIXED TRYOUT

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

100pt

[ LOWERCASE - NORMAFIXED TRYOUT ]

100pt

normafixed tryout normafixed tryout

48pt

normafixed tryout

24pt

normafixed tryout

10pt 21

normafixed tryout

Although i am looking for a typeface to be set in ideally capitals, I wanted to try it in lower case also to ensure that it was the perfect fit. I like how in lower case this typeface has a really scientific/typewriter feel making it seem really authentic and original. Something that can relate back to the original voyager record.

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

18pt

Molly Deakin

Development

72pt

[ LABEL EXPERIMENTATION ]

the design of these labels and how I felt they would best look with this style of type. I wanted it to be a very basic design so that it didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stand out too much on the page but that there was enough design there to hold the information required for each image.

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

Molly Deakin

Development

With the design of my zines there will be a lot of images on the majority of pages as its aim is to show a lot of information. Therefore I feel like there should be a label alongside each image or at least on the page the image is on to describe what is shown in the image, where it is, and where the image was found. So I began to experiment with

[ FINAL RESULT ]

After much deliberation and indecisiveness about which way I wanted to head with the ‘Earth Artifact brief I feel I eventually reached a point where I am happy with the final product and the route in which I went. My final result was a collection of magazines which documented information about the earth and its continents. Each issue was based on a different continent and explained it briefly to anyone who would be unsure exactly about what earth and its continents are.

Although I am happy with the final result there are a few little things that now looking back I would change or think would make it look more professional. Such as justifying my text more and paying more attention to rivers, widows and orphans, as at the time of making my magazines I was unsure about what exactly these were and didn’t pay much attention to them. So I feel that now after learning a lot more about them I feel I would have liked to maybe put that in to practise here. Also I feel that in hind site I should have paid a lot more attention to the sizing of the objects on my pages as I feel in places some text is to big in relation to the use of white space.

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

Molly Deakin

Development

Design wise I feel I accomplished everything I wanted to in relation to designing a magazine style that looked visually appealing but also made its information clear and easy to follow. Looking through each issue I’d know that if I wasn’t sure what exactly the continents

are, reading them gives a very brief explanation to anyone trying to understand it and it gives a visual image of what to imagine.

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

24 Molly Deakin

Development

Foundation Studio Practice / TFD1411

25 Molly Deakin

Development