Despite zines being typically non glossy as they are often produced at a lower cost, the sheen gives a very flattering and more smooth look to the illustrations which for this zine being image dominated becomes really important in it's finish, to have the images look as high quality as they can. Due to screenshotting most of the images off the Instagrams as not many are famous, a few are very slightly pixelated which isn't beneficial, however using the stock I chose as my final makes the images overall more flattering and softens this. In traditional zine style, the pages are put together by stapling. This fits the format and the pages turn at ease due to a low gsm stock and the slight gloss of the paper.
When it came to finishing printing this zine, this is where I had first come across the stapling machine and the page folder which unfortunately I didn't know how to work accurately, however this is a learning curve and these tools I will be aware of and will take into consideration for future publications.
Being the first book I have created, I am happy with the decisions I made on the production and changes I made along the way. The composition and layout I experimented with and at one stage became quite confused between what typeface balance would be appropriate for a zine, and for legibility and promotion of the artists which is what this zine is made to do. Going with a simple typeface and having only 3 bar the title throughout gives it the consistency and simplicity it needed to allow the illustrations to impact and celebrate the artists work. Having the barcode also gave consistency to the layout. Using grids for the first time properly in this brief was also a huge learning curve and in future I wouldn't go in to designing a publication without them.
In terms of not following the rules, as this was a zine I felt I could be free-er with some design aspects, such as the front cover having overlapping handdrawn inspired text which isn't popular to do but I think fits the theme and can still be read and understood by the target audience of art lovers and other illustrators. The title 'Velvet' having a soft finish to it aswell, I allowed myself to combine this texture with the very refined digital look of the body texts and figure as it was specifically an art zine. If this were made to be a formal publication of public information for example, I could not get away with these aspects but as it is an art zine I could have more freedom.
My decision to change the cover last minute also, was down to that I realised I need to put the best work forward so to speak, for the publication at a front cover glance to be more detailed and intriguing whereas the previous illustration didn't do this and wasn't one that was featured inside.
The outcome is something I personally love so much as they are a few of my favourite illustrators and all embody my favourite kind of illustration style, and I am so glad this prompted me to reach out to the illustrators through email and ask them for creative advice. If I were to do anything differently, I would probably include more information such as an interview or more about the illustration style to have a page dedicated to body text contrasting with the full page illustration as although it is a 10 page double spread I feel it is too brief. Despite this it serves it's purpose in showcasing the artists work and directing readers to their online work porfolio through using Instagrams as a platform which is feels essential certainly to designers in finding inspiration.
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