Handmade Publications.....

I would really like to create a zine over summer, as it will relate to my personal design practice and my dissertation. If i keep up with my research, ideas and illustrations for this zine i will have some work to include in my summer brief and then once i have all this work i can bind it in a 'zine or book' format. This is something i am becoming more and more interested in and i would like to focus on more of in my final year. Small publications and handmade books are something that i find really interesting and creative and i love the qualities that they have. I think handmade publications have a special quality that is always a really original feeling and i find they always have really interesting, diverse content. I have made a tiny start on zine ideas by just writing down things that i would like to create a zine about. i am going to be on the lookout for ideas and inspiration everywhere! i downloaded kerri smiths "100 ideas" and i think by getting a start on these i will kick start my creativity and get my brain working creatively. I cant wait to have a finished product, all hand stitched by me and printed in full colour, or black and white.... i haven't decided yet, but i would like it to be slightly more substantial, in content, than a small leaflet and would like to include body copy text and illustrations. I would like to attempt a full double page spread too and include some kind of free poster or sticker set to go with it. I think this will be a project that will take a whole summer, researching, experimenting, testing, developing and eventually creating a final product. I would like to create this zine as a one off experiment and if i enjoy it, create a whole set or series of zines based on similar topics. I will need to gather all my text/body copy research and adapt and write it in my own words and as i think this is the thing that will prove the most difficult, it will take the longest time. Also i was thinking that if i created a zine based on a specific subject, and i wanted the illustrations a certain way, then i could contact some people i know to see if they would contribute their drawings to the zine. All this talk is making me excited to get it all started....who would have thought that i would like researching my dissertation topic so much and in such a way that i actually end up making my own zine! I have bought this DIY guide to zines and zine culture from brainscan on etsy......



and i hope that this will help me with my research and with creating my own zine! i can't wait for it to arrive so i can get my hands on it and get reading and creating!