The Stapled Underground
ISTD 2017
Outcome: Pass with Merit
A rebellion against the superficial use of zines as a trend.
The brief of this project was to design a typographic work that explores the subject of fads. In
exploring the subject of trends, the designer found various interesting topics ranging from fashion
for women in the 1950s to Picasso’s blue period. Of all the researched fads, the designer found
zines and especially the trend of it in today’s design world the most captivating. The fact that zines
are used frequently and without remarkable thought struck a cord mostly because the designer
has seen how often zines are used in a sketchy, unconsidered way.
Zines were researched in every way to determine how it started, why it was done and what it was
done about. What was found made the annoying use of zines in a shallow way even more
substantial. Important zines in the 20th century were all weighty in reason, thought and
particularly rebellion. Zines were swiftly self-published (by fans of certain topics), handmade,
handwritten, photocopied and one-of-a-kind. The aesthetic appeal was in the crafted, hand drawn
typography, imagery and mostly in the tactility. Whereas today they are digitally driven,
unconsidered and mostly available on screen or as a trivial collectable.
The problem is clearly that zines are being used as a superficial trend in an insignificant way. The
goal of this expressive publication is to enlighten them about the significance and inherent
meaning of zines. And for the target audience (graphic designers) to be more aware of the fact that
zines are being used in a shallow, invalid way.
The concept is based on a rebellion against the unconsidered use of zines in a trendy way.
A juxtaposition of formal type layout with the DIY aesthetic of zines are used to represent the
rebellion. In-your-face handwritten type is used as a defiant element throughout the book.
This handcrafted book consists of four main eras in the 20the century where zines where
prominent in a noteworthy sense. It starts with the 1930s where the first zines was about
escapism, carrying science fiction as a trend, with hand drawn covers and typography.
In the 1950s zines were all about the unconventional group of “beatniks” that opposed everything materialistic
and consumerist. The 1970s was the most prominent era of zines where grunge, collage and hand
drawn typography conveyed the defiant, very rebellious nature of the punks (and their music).
In the 1990s the zines embodied a feminist upheaval, riot grill zines were born.
The format of the book is long and wide (230mm * 135mm) and also bound with a hard cover.
This is unconventional with regards to basic zine size and format which supports the rebellious nature
of the concept. The book is bound by hand, using the single sheet binding technique along with four
different colored thread. This was done to emphasize the handmade aesthetic of prevalent zines.
A set of typefaces were chosen for each era in the book, encapsulating the theme, issues and look
& feel of each distinctive era. A mixture of printed and hand crafted elements were used to
represent the aesthetic and cause of the specific zines of each era. The paper choice varies from
each era, like the styles of the zines also vary.
The importance and relevance of the zine progresses from the 1930s up until the 1970s therefore
the DIY aesthetic of each era grows louder and more rebellious, representing the “boom” of zines
over time especially in the 1970s. This crafted publication is intended to rebel as a collector’s item,
not copied, pasted and distributed like zines today.
