OUGD602 - Creative Convos - Rose Nordin Zine Workshop

As part of Creative Convo's the graphic design course was able to take part in a zine workshop led by Rose Nordin.

Rose Nordin is an illustrator and graphic designer from London, specialising in self-publishing and DIY culture. In the session we were first encouraged to create the content for the zine. Working collaboratively as a group we generated an alphabetic list of words associated with the creative fields. These words were divided between individuals and we were asked to created a visual representation of the word. These would then make up the pages of the zine.

The word I was to design a page for was 'curation'. To visually represent this word I started with the basic definition of 'curate' - to select, organise, and present. From this I used the concept of how we visually curate our everyday lives, and more specifically how we curate digital images via Instagram's new collections feature. Using my own personal images as an example I selected a range of images that are saved in my instagram account. To create the idea of volume within this collection, and to represent a sense of order, I used a basic stacking box motif. The design is shown below:

This session was particularly helpful for me, as I run a lot of my own zine workshops with Shy Bairns and being able to learn from another creative working in the same field allowed me the chance to review and refine the way I run sessions with the public. Rose was also a useful contact to make and opened up the possibility of connecting and/or collaborating in the future.

OUGD602 - Contacting Unit Editions

In an attempt to gain an internship placement I contacted Unit Editions, a publishing and design house based in London. Led by Tony Brook, Patricia Finegan (both Spin) and Adrian Shaughnessy, it has a highly regarded reputation for book design and production. Having former knowledge that they were looking to hire inters, I sent them the following message via email:

Hello!

I am a graphic designer specialising in editorial design and publication production, and I really like what you do!

I know that an important aspect of your publications is about providing a space for content that is not often published in traditional media, and this is also a large focus of my own practice. I am currently a member of the collective Shy Bairns and I am responsible for the design and printing of our risograph zine series - a platform that challenges the view of the Northern art scene and provides a space for Northern artists to find exposure and connect with other creatives. We have produced two zines so far with another on the way in the new year, and I have aspirations to expand this into a small publishing house in the future!

I am also currently involved in a zine project called About Honey which focuses on history and archiving within the LGBT community. This has just launched in the UK and has previously been exhibited in Vienna. I have aspirations to push both of these projects in a more commercial direction to enable a greater platform for these communities .

Basically you're doing everything that I would like to be doing in my future career and Unit Editions has long been my inspiration to produce and create printed publications. I wanted to email and reach out to you to try and find some experience because I'd love to be involved somehow! I'd love to know if you have any intern positions available, or even whether I'd be able to come down to your studios and pick your brains about your design process and publishing.

Attached is my CV and a link to my website is at the bottom. It would be such an amazing opportunity, hope to hear from you soon!

Erin Blamire
erinblamire.com
shybairns.co.uk

Communication was also attempted via Twitter and Instagram, however there has been no reply.