OUGD503 (Brief 1): Photo zines

As part of the responsive module, I intend to create a few short zines containing some of the photos I took over summer around Europe, to promote myself as a photographer and show my experience of different cities.  The selection of photographs should give an insight into the particular subject or place, usually from a different perspective than that of the average tourist.

I undertook several projects during the month including looking at european architecture, however I plan for the series' of photo booklets to represent the different cities I visited.  My intention with this is to attempt to have these booklets stocked in shops and to sell online as a way of showcasing my photographs in print, while maintaining a decent quality within a low budget.

RESEARCH

In The Village Bookstore in Leeds I've seen several small zines showcasing the author's (or another photographer's) photos in short series', usually in the format of an A5 booklet.  Although all the zines included only photos, the positions and size of the images are varied to give the books a more interesting arrangement of content, differing between each spread.  The dimensions of photos also change between portrait, landscape and square format, as well as using different size borders around the photos, and on some none, making the image bleed off the page instead.   Each gives a different impression on the viewer especially amount of negative space or when using different coloured backgrounds.

Information about the publication

When text is included, it's minimal, and only shows what is necessary.  This often includes the date published and copyright info, name of series, possibly location, and a website reference.  This is a desired aesthetic fitting with the stripped back, minimal layout design, and I should consider these details when designing my own publications to make sure all the required information is shown. The two examples below show additional information on the back and on the front of two separate zines.

I've followed Craig Atkinson's work for a while now; through his business Cafe Royal Books he produces weekly, (primarily) black and white photo zines of various subjects around the UK.  Their consistent front cover style unifies the brand and portrays an informative tone of voice, combined with a large proportion of the page filled by a photo from the series to give viewers an insight to the content inside.

STYLE GUIDE

I don't want my own booklets to work as a numerical series - they must work on their own out of context, however they should have a consistent aesthetic.  I plan to only use typography on the covers to illustrate the title of each zine, which contrasts with the entirely photographic sequence inside.  Each style should be appropriate to the photo series.

I want to use a sans serif typeface to match the style of photography and keep the design modern and simplistic.  It should only be of a small point size as the text is only an added extra to give a bit of information about the booklet, and will primarily be used for info on the back cover, so only needs to be 10pt or less.  The colour scheme will be greyscale so the photos become the main point of focus.  This also fits with the front covers, where I will use only black and white to paint the titles; white text on black background.  This becomes the opposite on the reverse cover where the text is printed black on a white background.  Using paint as the media for the titles adds a personal and hand made feel to the publication.

Concerning the photographs, the layout changes and depends on the selection of photos and the individual series, though sizes vary from between four on a page to one photo stretching across a double page spread, some bleeding off the page and others with varied border widths.