#wk9

ZINE RESEARCH

(FRIDAY 1ST MAY 2020)

The other day in class, we looked at inspiration for our current zine project. We looked at this Russian Avant-Garde zine featuring graphic art and typography collections. 

The cover page (top) is clearly striking with many elements scattered across the communication. I have not seen anything like it before. I’m conflicted and confused though - there’s a sense of asymmetrical balance, but at the same time, there is lots of symmetry in the piece. I can’t decide if I like the somewhat ordered chaos, or if I dislike the array of mess to focus on. I do really like the colour palette though. The pale blue ground colour effectively contrasts the black, yellow, pink and green elements in the figure. I like the used of repeated shapes across the design, and how the entire space has been used. Repetition is also seen on some of the page spreads in the zine, where lines that cross in the centre are visible, and tiny circular shapes can be seen in a cluster by the page header. 

It’s made me consider a different outcome for my own zine - one that is slightly more abstract and full-on. Akzidenz-Grotesk is a typeface that is popularly used in commercial products and advertising, so this style of zine would not reflect its current use. However, it has occurred to me, alongside discussion in class, that my zine could take an approach to mock the rigidity and inflexibility of the typeface, and spin it around to represent it in a more chaotic sense.