Zines – what are they and who makes them? Let’s find out

  • January 27th, 2021
  • Kyra de Sousa
  • January 27, 2021 10:51 am

In the world where stories come with an expiry of 24 hours, let us tap into nostalgia and relive some colourful memories.  

What is a Zine? 

A ‘Zine’ is a self published mini magazine. 

According to Wikipedia, “A zine is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via photocopier. They are the product of either a single person or of a very small group, and are popularly photocopied into physical prints for circulation.” 

It is used as a way to connect with people on different levels as it’s convenient and easy to make.
It brings together a niche audience with various ideas, expressions and inclinations.

History of Zines
Zines were started around the 1930s-1960s. Initially it was called fanzine because most of the zines published were based on science fiction but then it shortened to just ‘Zine’. This helped expand on topics from just sci-fi to other topics such as social and political thoughts and opinions. 

Types of Zines
These are a few types of zines that are in constant circulation. 

  • The basic and easiest type of zine is the 8 fold zine – it’s a single sheet that’s folded in such a way that you have 8 pages to use for your content.

  • There are zines you can make as a group with your friends otherwise known as collective zines

  • Silk print/ Block print zine

  • Comic book zine

  • Persona/Diary zine 

Making a comeback

In a world where everything is digitised, why would people still use and make zines? 

It’s a form of journalism – getting your thoughts and feelings out there. It gives you a sense of community. There is a bit of it for everybody out there. They are important to communities, culture and to all interested in creative expression. It comes naturally to us. We start making them almost from the time we were kids. 

“For storytelling, zines are amazing! In a zine, the stories are short and not exactly novel-length, it’s more convenient to make a sketch also to get your point across more coherently,” A fellow designer, Sanju, shared this when asked why she enjoys making zines.

Fun Zinsters to check out

  1. Tiny Rat Magic
    https://www.instagram.com/tinyratmagic/
  2. Gemma Flack
    http://www.gemmaflack.com/
  3. Holly Casio
    https://coolschmool.com/
  4. Rayne Klar
    http://rayne-klar.squarespace.com/
  5. Sarah Graley
    https://www.sarahgraley.com/
  6. Bunny Bissoux
    http://www.bunnybissouxart.com/

And many more https://zines.barnard.edu/

The best part about a zine is that it has no limits. You can make one using collages and cut outs from other print material, it can have interesting packaging to enhance the user experience, it can get extremely crafty and have elements that pop out as you turn the pages. A Zine can be a piece of how your imagination works No buts, No cuts.

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