Zine Shape

Installation Development : Final Major Project

MA in Photography, Falmouth University, Module 5

figure 1

I set up a meeting with a friend who is a graphic designer and whose work I respect, to create a discussion about the further potential for a zine; its design, materiality, quantity, timing, content, cost, relationship with my gallery show and more.  This was not a case of mutually creating a brief, more a thinking session to sense-check potential.

There is a huge array of options in terms of format and consideration of paper waste, which really ought to be mastered.  We rehearsed standard paper sizes and the impact that has on page layouts and the mix of narrative with the visual.

Timing also is sensitive to an editing process, the drawing in of writings from other commentators and the gallery input, let alone distinguishing the visual content from that of the show.  The ability to discern and discriminate would come to the fore.

The most interesting part of the discussion was the potential to relate the zine to the Pause Project in terms of the interplay with materials, such as a building board to act as a back or front cover with an imprinted or cut image placed into it or through it – this could be the Fermata icon.  The pages, of various degrees of thickness and translucency, would then be hole-punched, collated and held together with a bolt fixing.  This led to the conclusion that a small number of hand-crafted objects would be a nice addition to the exhibition.  Each could be hand numbered as a very limited set.

To be continued…….

Some inspirational images, all accessed 8.3.2018

figures 2, 3, 4, 5

Sources;

Fig 1 http://www.bitbyzeus.com/zines/

Fig 2 https://shop.showstudio.com/products/zine/issue-1-aspirational-issue

Fig 3 https://shop.showstudio.com/products/zine/issue-1-aspirational-issue

Fig 4 http://situated.systems/experimental-zine/ 

Fig 5 http://shifter.media/creative-nate-matos-zines/

 

On Planning a Design for a Group Exhibition

MA in Photography, Falmouth University, Module 3, Surfaces and Strategies, Week 5

During week 5 we were to choose three curators and 2 designers to help facilitate an exhibition between 11-18th August 2017.

Considering the talent pool we have in our cohorts I invited Rita Rodner to join me as a team of two to manage and produce the design for this ‘global’ exhibition.  Rita is a graphic designer and has strong design and production skills (i.e. adept at software use).  A student poll was held and we were selected as the 2 person team.  In addition a group of three individuals were selected to undertake the curating roles.

We were able to work at a very quick pace and drafted our design plan proposition within the day of our appointment which I thought impressive.  We consulted the curator team and then published the invitation to partake, with a deadline to the cohort.  We planned a poster, invitation and web site.  The invitation would act as a template with data entered and printed out locally to each photographer.  All information would be available to allow promotion of the exhibition 3 weeks before the opening deadline – i.e. 11th August 2017.

We communicated as soon as possible to the cohort as we assumed having elected a team of curators and designers it was important to relate back to hem and show that there was a pattern and timescale to our endeavour.

I will write more as this process develops towards the exhibition deadline.  Meanwhile, this is the script sent out to the cohort of circa 30 students.

Hello Everyone

Here are Rita and my consolidated proposals.

We hoped to be able to convey these notes via webinars; we have been in touch with the 3 curator team over the last 3 days and they will send out the webinar invites when they have chosen the title and themes for the exhibition and activities.   We all look forward to hearing from them……

So the plan…

We will create a kind of ‘style guide’ for the global exhibition; we will need from each of you some info set out below.

We will create a ‘visual identification’ (motif, typography, colour palette etc. which will be adapted to create invitations, posters and anything else related to promotion of the exhibition).

With a flowing wind we will create a poster that will have as its ambition extracts from each participants’ image.  This would be a common, generic poster that all can use and print out locally if we all wish.  From this there would be an exhibition invite template (using some of the poster graphics) issued to everyone so they can enter their individual event details and use as appropriate.

Timing

Don’t panic! But…..we need to have it all in place to promote the event say 3 weeks before 11th August.  So that is 14th July deadline for the template from each photographer then we have 1 week to sort out and liaise with the Falmouth Flexible web guy to insert all data and test before it goes live on 21st July  http://www.landings.space/  I am afraid dates are none negotiable – there is much to do….but all we need from you by 14th July is this:

A one page summary:

Name.

Where you are globally.

Title/theme and how your work has responded to the theme, etc … word count  for this is 75

One image to convey your work – this image is up to you – may be current work or work you shoot in the next few week of course.

Provide a link to your exhibition portfolio/web site/etc

This is a real deadline and we all know what that means without me spelling it out.  No deadline met – no inclusion.  I could dress that message up in soft language but I am not.

Editing web site – Rita is in contact with Gary (who said he will link with the web designer) about  e.g. font, layout etc we will create an alphabetical order of front page links to photographers’ information then their web links.  If possible (NOTE!) we will create a ‘secondary’ page with the information from your submission to us – this would effectively be the ‘catalogue’ series of pages – though we are cautious about the use of that word….there will be more on this when we know more.  There may need to be a warning about nudity on the front page.

I hope I have addressed the thinking and approach but let me have any queries and I will respond when I can.