Autumn Schreiber Creative

Tag: diy

  • making a zine in InDesign

    making a zine in InDesign

    Hey yall, I’m back! Before jumping into the software I decided to look for a tutorial. I found this one and it was pretty straightforward. If you’re looking for a tutorial on how to make a zine by hand check out this video from brattyxbre.

    Getting Started

    Form a plan. Or don’t, but that’s what I’m doing.

    • Find a topic
    • Make a rough draft
    • Gather images/digital scrapbook stuff (paper textures, tape, etc)
    • Design
    • Print!

    So first up is finding inspiration. Right now I’ve been really into musicians Chapell Roan and Ethel Cain. I’d be a shell of myself without Spotify. My zine will be called music on my mind to reflect my current song infatuations.

    Now that I have my topic, I split my pages up.

    • Cover
    • Intro Page
    • Artist
    • Artist
    • Artist
    • Artist
    • Artist
    • Back
    Here’s the rough sketched out page design layout!

    Designing

    The hardest part is next. I followed this tutorial to figure out my layout in the software. From there I found corresponding fonts and scrapbook-like elements. The colors, elements, and fonts corresponded with the main picture and the vibe of the artist. I got most of my fonts and elements from Adobe Fonts and Adobe Stock Images.

    The Final Product

    Initially, I had the layout similar to the video tutorial. However I ran into issues figuring out how to print it. More on that below.

    Printing

    Printing is a different beast entirely. At first, I printed my facing pages as spreads. But I thought I’d be smart and print them doublesided to save on paper. However, my double sided pages didn’t face the same way and one side was up and the other was flipped. To save my remaining sanity I brought the pages into a 8.5″ x 11″ document (split into 8). This allowed me to save on paper and simply fold and cut to make a zine without needing binding. For some reason, I still ended up with a white border after printing. I used the school’s printers but will try UPS next time.

    This is how I folded my mini zine!

    Thoughts

    If I were to do this again (hopefully soon!) I would change a couple of things.

    • Font Unity
      • I used a lot of fonts to try to adhere to the featured artist, but doing so made it hard to read and overall not uniform
    • Readability
      • I’d change the font size to be legible, it was hard to tell before printing
    • Printing Process
      • I ran into patchy ink printing so I’d find another way to print next time
    • Layout
      • Instead of doing multiple facing pages, I’d stick to a 8.5 x 11″ split into 8 sections. The simplified layout doesn’t make my head hurt as much and would save money on printing if I decide to sell/print multiple.

    What would you make a zine about? Have you made one before? Let me know below 🙂

  • delving into magazines and zines

    delving into magazines and zines

    Today I started my morning with a video from one of my favorite Youtubers, Mina Le. She made a video essay detailing the rise and fall of fashion magazines. It was a fun watch, especially because I grew up with magazines like American Girl, Highlights, and even Seventeen. Even magazines like People and Us Weekly hold a certain sense of nostalgia because I remember reading headlines while unloading groceries with my mom. But somewhere along the way magazines fell off. With the rise of the internet it makes sense. You didn’t have to rely on magazines for gossip, national news, or trends when you had the internet at your fingertips.

    While some magazines survived the internet age, some went digital or died completely. Despite this, I really want to make my own. A magazine is a big undertaking, so I’m more drawn to zines.

    What is a zine?

    According to Purdue University a zine is a “small-batch, independently published work that circulates less than 1,000 copies”. Purdue also walks through zine history and a tutorial (click here).

    Zines have a history of activism, science fiction, and punk culture stemming back from the 1930s. Although zines are known for their rebellious nature, the content can be anything and everything. Read on for some examples.

    Sniffin’ Glue is a punk fanzine from the 70s.
    Riot Grrrl is a punk driven feminist zine that started in the 90s

    When creating a zine (or magazine) it can be done digitally or created by hand. I tend to gravitate towards making my zines by hand because it comes naturally to me. I’m still learning and improving my Adobe skills, but I’m not as adept as I’d like to be. I’ve decided to go about it with Adobe InDesign to stay in the software.

    However, creating a zine by hand can be just as much fun as doing it digitally. You can draw, glue, and glitter to your hearts content! After finishing your master copy zine, most people scan the pages to print and assemble additional zines.

    Next week I’ll detail my zine process, but until then…

    Rock on and read my latest posts below!