Memories to Pass the Time (2020-2023)
Roles
Art Direction; Photography; Typography; Publication Design; Packaging Design; Production; Distribution
Production
Dimensions: 6.7" x 9.85"
Paper: 60lb Uncoated White
About
“Memories to Pass the Time” is a 56-page black & white film photo zine series documenting portraits, travels, and intimate daily life during specific periods or themes of my life. Following the release of my second self-produced zine "Piece of Mind", I wanted to create something physical that felt less gloss magazine and more authentic. My publication work leading up to this was made with little type and layout knowledge, so this project was my first step into consciously conceptual publication design.
When I originally conceptualized this project I wanted an outlet for my intimate and personal photographs that reflected my feelings in the visuals, design, and physical touch. My goal was to develop a consistent layout and print style to leave as an open-ended series I could continually add on to in the future. Producing this project has been a valuable journey and learning experience in publication design and advertising.
Volume I (2021)
Volume I (2021) was originally printed on newsprint to add an authentic tone to the black-and-white photographs. The production costs of the newsprint and my lack of proper advertising outweighed the return and left me at a profit-loss with 40 unsold zines.
Volumes II - IV (2023)
After learning some humbling lessons, new design knowledge, and an overflowing archive I returned to the series in Spring 2023 with Volumes II, III, and IV. I chose to create a series of 3 zines for the second issuing rather than a single one, in combination with cheaper paper production to increase distribution abilities.
The quality wasn’t quite the same as the original, but it allowed me to produce and sell zines at a much lower cost than before. This created a better advertising strategy for me by offering 156 pages of photographs rather than a single booklet. This proved successful, and all pre-orders sold out within 6 hours of the release.
Design + Type
Inspired by classic novel design, I limited myself to large margins and the Bembo family only. I wanted to challenge myself to use a classic serif to find a tonally balanced hierarchy between elements.
Packaging Concept
I wanted to build off the newsprint concept and pay homage to the first issue after switching paper types, so I chose to bundle the new series in twine, reminiscent of newspaper bulk packaging.
Consumer Experience
Giving the viewer a tactile experience was important to me and the twine was a cost-effective and concept-effective way to adapt the original idea. In the future, I hope to continue expanding this concept with more materials and additions.
Volume II – Pre-Pandemic Europe
Volume III – B-Sides in San Francisco
Volume IV – Autumn in Austin
Post Project – Poster Design Class
The summer semester following the production of these zines I took a poster design elective. Our first assignment was to create a cut-and-paste collage to experiment with duotone risograph printing. I used images from all four zines to create a flowing collaged landscape. We were required to add a typographic element, so I chose the phrase "it takes a village" because I felt that pretty much sums up the piece and my work in it. I sacrificed a set of zines for this project because I wanted to make it something more personal rather than the typical random vintage magazine image route.
