Nottingham Zine Fest 2016

Over the past weekend I spent my day doing something I love to do; looking through endless amounts of zines and magazines. Located at one of the most individual and idiosyncratic hubs in Nottingham, the Zine Fest took place at record store / café / gig venue, Rough Trade. ( If you are yet to visit Rough Trade make sure that you do one day! Especially if you are into old records, aesthetically pleasing coffee table books and collecting edgy band posters.)

Not only did I enjoy the zine festival for my own benefit, but it was also at the top of my do-to list because very soon, on my university course, we will be creating our very own zines under the theme of identity. So what better place to get inspiration from than a fair dedicated to some of the most innovative and artist zines floating around the creative industry that fills the streets and museums of Nottingham right now. The zines were also great inspiration for my upcoming project because I have never actually engaged in such a creative or hands on activity during my previous studies before so I am extremely excited to undergo the process of making and designing my own zine. Furthermore, after taking part in an editorial internship over the summer, I uncovered that it is my dream to one day go down the route of fashion journalism or magazine editorial. Therefore, I intend to get the most experience and understanding of magazines and zines as possible during the upcoming project to ensure I am employable and skilful enough in a variety of areas to ensure my dream can become a reality.

As I walked around the zine festival there were many mini magazines that caught my eye. From quirky self-drawings with fabulous illustrative designs to kitschy patterns exuding delightful compositions and a mixtures of superbly vibrant colours, the festival was a creative and fashion communicators heaven.





One zine that I was particularly drawn in by had been created by a graphic designer called Ben Wood. Although I was not entirely sure about the subject behind his zine until conversing with him, I was mostly intrigued by his unique layout and use of abstraction. Wood's visual communication reflects a design style that I am especially interested in therefore, I could not wait to show his work throughout this blog post. I also admired his taste for contextual and historical references which were mixed with a graphically edgy twist shown especially through his front cover. From what i can interpret myself, I presumed his front cover communicated an image of historical roman or Grecian sculpture which he had redesigned with a feel for animation and illusion, alongside a high contrast and intensely saturated colours.