This zine was a visual auto biography of sorts, with each segment of the zine representing a different point of my life. The visual style used is also a means to convey the emotional content of each piece. For example, the drawing that shows myself at age 6 was drawn in a lush brush style in order to get across the fantastical feeling that the writing suggests. Another example would be the rough and stylistic art used to depict my depression at age 16.  The “bed pattern” that is used as both the front cover and as a side border was a happy accident that happened while putting the final files together in order to print and they are my favorite part of the piece. I think they really tie the whole zine together. The final zine was 8.5 x 11.

17″ x 118.5″

Digital Final, printed

This project was exploring the different aspects of what is encapsulated within a chair. It starts out to define the parameters of what is commonly thought of the chair in its object form and transitions into four other sections: media, history, typology and production.

The media portion examines the chair in the format of online journalism and the objects connection to mass and pop culture:

-Fast Company looks to future design solutions for factory workers that stand too long without a seat

-The Onion questions whether the world needs more chairs

-Jacobin sounds out an opinion of why chairs and sitting are bad

-Slate seeks to answer why chairs are difficult to produce

-Vice examines how one dies in an Electric Chair

-Designboom demonstrates the kind of outrageousness that chairs may possess

-The Huffington Post writes about a chair designed to cure loneliness

-The New York Times analyzes office chairs

-The Verge reports on a near-future workout chair that doubles as a lounge chair

This one portion of the  project illustrates the kind of  perspective I am examining the chair.

This format is adaptable to be in digital format and poster format.

Rachel Tandon, January 2015

2 ¾ inches x 34 inches unrolled, x3

Plotter-print on paper

In response to a prompt to create a zine inspired by an everyday object, I chose to make a zine about chapstick. I began by researching as much as I could about chapstick, accepting everything I found, and eventually discovering there are many more facets to it than just its history. I found that chapstick is not only a highly referenced object in current pop culture, but also something that’s shaping our culture. And, it is an object adamantly loved and adamantly hated.

Inspired by the strong, and sometimes trivial, responses I surveyed on the internet, I wrote this zine emphasizing the absurdity of chapstick as a simple, small, practical object, yet something that can also inspire strong cultural reactions. This duality inspired the way in which I presented each category, pairing each objective, fairly obvious truth about chapstick, with a similar yet much more unexpected parallel fact. The zine comes in a set of three volumes–use, function, and social–and each volume rolls up into a chapstick-sized tube for easy distribution. The content of the zine is a combination of writing, personal illustrations, and digital collage.

some initial research

planning/layout

final zine

(unrolled)

vol. 1: use

vol. 1: use

vol. 1: use

vol. 2: function

vol. 2: function

vol. 2: function

(for scale)

vol. 3: social

vol. 3: social

vol. 3: social

Object project

The project was a overview of the JDM culture. The zine teaches us about the history of JDM and also suggests possible modifications for JDM cars.

“Nails” zine: 5.5″ x 8.5″ in envelope

Mixed Media, edition of 10.

Prompted to make a zine about an every day object, I chose to look at fingernails. The content of the zine was generated from my own personal thoughts and experiences with nails, particularly centered around adornment. Although the short statements are personal and subjective, they are largely relatable and easy to interact with.

The aim of the zine was to create a bizarre and humorous celebration of fingernails, which makes the viewer hyper aware of their own fingers while reading. Senses are engaged as textural and found objects require the use scratching and peeling, while the acrylic nails attached to the cover simulate the sound of long nails tapping on a hard surface. Even the smell triggers a sensory understanding as many pages are painted with nail polish.

Larger conversations may also be triggered in reading the zine. For instance, how is taste developed and what does it reflects about one’s upbringing and understanding of social hierarchy? How are trends interpreted and appropriated among different groups?

Process:

Process 1: Images from picture collection

Process 2: Materials

Process 3: Original collaged copy

Final Edition:

For each project, please follow this order.

Text:

0. Project title (type on the post title section above)

1. Your Name, credit if you collaborated with others

2. Dimension, material, year

3. Project website link (if you have)

4. Project description (minimum 130 words)

Images: include captions.

1. Process (sketches, mockups, etc)

2. Final Product: consider how you can show actual experience of your zine

–Printed matter: cover and inside
–Web / App: screenshots of multiple pages
–Video: screenshots of multiple frames
–Environmental: final piece itself plus installation views

3. Distribution

–Web/ App platform: screenshots of feedback
–Event, installation: multiple views to clearly show people encountering your zine
–Staged proposal: multiple views to explain possible interactions

*This is an example of inserted media.

type your caption under each image