What is a Zine?

A zine is a noncommercial, and often small homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject matter. Usually one tens to be the product of a single person or small group who photocopy their designs, and it popularly defined as only having a circulation of 1,000 or fewer copies. The production of a zine is usually intended to share niche-skill, art, or story as opposed to seeking any profit, which tends to disregard the traditional conventions of professional design and publishing houses as an alternative, whilst usually being handwritten to emphasize a personal connection between the reader and the creator. Here are some example of zines below:From here I will be analyzing what to me makes a good zine, and the aspects within the design which bring it out to me as a reader. By doing this it would allow me to go ahead with the actual making of my own zine, knowing what I wish to incorporate into it. When looking over the cover of these zines titled “AINT – BAD”, I found the use of font to be particularly effective. This is because of the simplicity but boldness it uses, making it not too overpowering, but at the same time fits with the overall design of the pictures and blank space incorporated into the cover.  The use of blank space also compliments the image in the center as it defines the vitals of the cover, this is done through how it acts as a natural border for the fonts and the photographs which adds a touch of complex simplicity. The images chosen for each cover I found were not too visually sore, but not too simple, meaning that they perfectly blended into the layout of the design as the mainly bleak colours worked well with the stark black of the writing.