Kate Rowan

For my FMP, I designed a zine surrounding the theme of teenage mental health and social media, focusing on distortion and disrupted, pixilated imagery. The overall intention of the zine was to raise awareness about the issue of social media on mental health, whilst offering support and advice for young people about coping with these platforms, which I think I achieved. The key areas of research for my project included looking at stigma surrounding teenage mental health issues, problematic internet usage (PUI), research around coping mechanisms and looking at important charities who do so much for young people regarding this subject. After thinking about ethics within my project, it was important to not make the content of my zine harmful or patronising, instead I wanted its sole purpose to be to raise awareness about the dangers of social media and create a safe space for people to seek support. I studied a number of key artists who influenced my work. David Carson inspired a lot of the imagery I use, looking at distressed textures and typography within his designs. Craig Ward also influenced a lot of my typography work and choice of colour pallet. He Inspired me to experiment with physical materials to create expressive typefaces. Armin Hofmann inspired much of the compositional elements of my final zine, including areas of swiss design such as minimalistic and clean layout in contrast with distorted photography. His work became a big influence when designing the cover of my magazine (especially his artwork for the “Giselle poster). I was very influenced by Francesca Woodman and her powerful photography surrounding the subject of mental health and depression. The blurriness and distortion of the photos hugely inspired my photoshoots. The direction of my project changed after completing my photoshoots and working in the dark room – it was not my initial plan to have so much of the zine centred around distorted photography, however when I started developing photos in the dark room, it inspired a different area of focus for the aesthetic of my zine – including colour pallet. I found the black and white aesthetic to be more powerful for my concept and I felt that removing the colour would give a more mature feel to the zine. My dark room photos had such a different feel to my original edits, the imperfect unpredictable quality of non-digital prints was something that hugely influenced my final design. I wanted to print my photos in the dark room because it combined digital edits with physical ways of printing and it fed into that idea the old vs the new, which aligned with the narrative of social media as a modern way of communication. I am really happy with the outcome of my final zine, and feel that it met the objectives of having a mature sense, expressive photographs, and providing support for people. This project has potential for further works such as creating an online presence to reach a wider audience and more teenagers who need help. If I had more time to continue this project, that would definitely be the next steps I would take.

Friday was a day of finalising small details before the deadline. To ensure my stickers wouldn't blow away I held them down with 2 magnets in the top corners. I also added the lights to go in my display shelves. My show space has very look lighting so I was unsure as to whether I would need the lights in the shelves, however I think it really adds to the overall look. Finally I painted a last coat of white paint onto my plinths just to touch up any dark spots and it was complete. 

I tested many different layouts, but I found that having the title along the side of the cover was the most successful outcome as it gave me maximum space for the photograph and smaller details. I chose to have the zines social media handles displayed on the cover because it represents future steps of my project - which would be to give my zine an online presence in order to for it to reach a wider audience. Although the concept of the zine is highlighting the dangers of social media, I think that it is important to get across that social media cannot always be a bad thing, if we learn how to use it in a safer way - for a more positive impact. 

I took a lot of inspiration from Armin Hofmann when designing the cover of my zine, in particular his “Giselle” poster which consists of a textured black and white photograph with a left aligned title. 

A few more of my zine pages, using the distorted photography from my second photoshoot.

Designing a logo to be displayed alongside my zine. I wanted the logo to reflect the name of the zine, which I why I used the mouse icon. I also stuck with the same black and white aesthetic as my zine, so that it ties in together nicely. I will hopefully get these designs printed as stickers for people to take away at my exhibition, alongside my zine

Digital edits from my second photoshoot 

I visited Magalleria in Bath, which has one of the largest collections of independent magazines in the UK. It gave me lots of ideas about how I could display my magazines at my exhibition, as well as inspiration for the cover of my zine

I am really pleased with the outcome of this photoshoot. After encountering problems with studio availability and lighting issues, I think I have some great shots which I will definitely hope to in my zine. 

After experimenting previously with various colour combinations, I think that a black and white colour pallet is the way to go. I want the zine to have a mature feel to it, which I just wasn't achieving with my previous experiments. Using black and white allows the viewer to focus on the narrative of the design, without being distracted by colour. It also ties in really nicely to my work in the dark room, and using traditional printing methods. Black and white has links with newspapers which highlights traditional ways of communication, as opposed to modern day communication online. 

Louise bourgeois exhibition at the Haywood gallery.

Experimenting with magazine layouts using my distorted photographs.

Printmaking - experimenting with letter stamps to create designs surrounding the theme of social media - repeating the word ‘refresh’. I scanned my prints into photoshop and experimented with repeat pattens.

Printing my edited photos in the dark room, overlapping digital edits, with physical printing techniques. I found that this technique creates sharper contrasts and more interesting textures than a regular printed image. I want to emphasise the dialogue between the old and the new - editing photos digitally verses printing them traditionally, which links back to my main concept of modern social media on mental health.

experimenting with distortions in photoshop, using photos from my photoshoot 

First photoshoot - using a slow shutter speed to capture motion in the photographs, creating interesting distortions and blurs. I plan to do a second photoshoot in a few weeks, using different models and lighting.

experimenting with typography in the style of Craig Ward who uses expressive marks and textures. I experimented physically as well as digitally, using ink stains, water photography and photoshop.