DIY // Evaluation

This collaboration project has been running all year with slow progress to begin with when we had a different final outcome in mind.  After a tutorial with Brian and some really constructive feedback we changed direction slightly from design the one how to, step by step manual to creating a series of inspirational zines with a target audience of students, crafters and non crafters alike.  After this change in direction the momentum picked up and we dived into making more and more crafts and eventually we were ready for designing.  Emily and I took different roles in order to get the brief completed.  We both made crafts while Emily took more of the design role, designing the layout while I focused more on the crafts and illustration for the publications.  We encountered a couple of problems mainly surrounding the photography of items and when it came to sending it off to print we encountered a few more errors, communicating with the printers we managed to finally get them printed and arrived just in time before the deadline.  We approached the photography for this brief from a few different ways, indoor photography with poor lighting, to the photography studio which just looked to clean and fresh for the style and nature of the publications.  As it came into spring it meant that we could start photographing outside which complimented the crafts much more.  My photography skills have seriously improved since the beginning of this brief, thanks to lots of practice and the help of Emily and the photography department. 

We have proposed to carry on with the zine collection throughout summer and into the future because we have both really enjoyed the brief.  We would ideally like to start distributing the zines at places like the Village Bookstore in Leeds.