Zine: Lion Dance
Zine I made as a final project of my studying journey in Communication Design, Semester 1, 2020. It was a long process, not easy but heaps of fun. It took me a long time to figure out the topic of my zine: Lion Dance.
It is a topic I’m passionate in and simultaneously, this topic has its society, cultural value. I could still remember how I start from some plain A4 paper (which I used as a prototype of a spreadsheet) and some basic shapes, illustrations in my mind. Generally speaking, this is a great project which ‘pushed’ me to finalise my design one time and another. I learned a lot and I really enjoy it.
Compared to other four topics you did research for, what is the speciality of ‘Lion Dance’ for you? Is there a decisive reason for your final choice?
All five topics I did research for are fabulous artists, art movement or design. However, the reason why I’m so passionate for Lion Dance is because my hometown-being. I am from Canton, China and yes, this is where the Lion originated from. I was fully raised in China and the Lion Dance is almost accounted as the most important celebration during festivals, ceremonies, etc..
I want to say, this is something closely related to my life (childhood, hometown, memories) which is dedicated to my final decision.
What art material and art style you used for this zine?
Specifically, I utilised oil crayon and doing collage in some page. The intention for using crayon is to show the beautiful texture of the crayon through my hand drawing. Compared to digital sketching or illustration, hand drawing could bring out the sense of wild, free, no restraint, passionate more which is align with the idea of lion.
Additionally, collage is an important idea and section of post modernism. It conveys the idea of breaking the traditional rules in art world and keep attempting new things. This is what I’m trying to convey through the interview with the lion. How traditional culture, art created by our ancestors combine and embrace the modern world. How the new generation re-develop the essence of traditional art.
Is there any difficulty when doing your design?
Yes, there is. Designing a zine is more difficult than I imagined (this is my first attempt for this new field). I want to do it creatively instead of having formal and neat layout. That’s my personal art style and preference. However, after doing research and consulting my tutor, I was strong suggested to relate the art form, style and material related to my topic. This makes it more difficult for me to think of design for every spreadsheet.
Additionally, when the design process went digital for some typography and layout stuff, I noticed my typography skills requires lots of improvement. I am aware of this field.
What is the most interesting part during the designing process?
That’s a lot! There are many things I quite enjoy but I would say I enjoy myself most when painting and doing layout through playing around with different elements on Adobe Indesign. Indesign is like a lab for me to experimenting with different layout.
Would you like to share some tips for designing zine?
I consider myself as a newbie to the zine field. This is my first time ever designing a zine alone. I learn and have fun from it. I would say designing a zine should always try to break the rules, cross the lines and have fun with it. That’s what a zine really is. A plain white paper is ready to reveal all your talented thoughts.