In the last five weeks of my study abroad trip, one of my courses is Zine Design! If you are not a graphic design student or interested in art you may be thinking ‘What is a Zine?’
A Zine is a self-published print work that is typically produced in small and limited batches. I was quite excited to print and bind my own ideas and collaborate with my classmates. We visited the London Centre for Book Arts, an artist-run open-access studio offering programs to the London community. The Centre’s mission is to foster and promote book arts and artist-led publishing in the UK through collaboration, education, and distribution. They’re generous enough for providing open access to printing, binding, and publishing facilities which made me really appreciate them as an artist.
To make our zine we were told to collaborate with our classmates in groups of three to create the collages that would make up all of the pages inside. The super exciting part about this project is the fact that we had 2 days to do it! Super short amount of time to create something like this but that is what gave it the thrill.
We were taught risograph printing and the entire process of scanning, printing, and binding to create zines. I learned about risograph printing for the first time during these studio hours and it’s such a cool process. It’s a printer that prints 2 colors only. By scanning an image the printer is able to print the lights and darks separately into a given color. The first session also consisted of creating our collages and copying them to have multiple copies. The following day our session was using the risograph for the first time and binding the books together! Using the risograph was such a cool technology to witness and the outcome of our prints was great. Are tutors that helped us had worked in the printing realm for a good time so being able to hear them talk about their passion was nice. This was a great way to conclude the class!
A Message from the Office of Global Engagement:
The safety and security of Drexel students is a priority for the University. As part of the efforts to support Drexel students that are studying abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Office of Global Engagement has conducted a rigorous review of programming and provided additional support to participating students with customized pre-departure orientations and regular check-ins during the required self-isolation period and the term.
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