Recently I've been feeling that the photography course I'm taking at university just isn't what I want to do for the rest of my life; while I've enjoyed learning new things and getting the chance to experiment and create, I just feel like I have limitations within photography, and with my final major project due in less than two months it was sort of a struggle coming up with an amazing idea that will make sure I graduate this course. Working for a magazine is something I've recently become interested in, so creating a final major project that will help develop my interest and knowledge in magazines would benefit my career after uni rather than creating just a photography piece that is something I no longer wish to professionally pursuit.
The idea that me and my tutor decided on was for me to create a fanzine, which will have to include some photography but I also get to write for it and include other elements rather than just photography, and I am really excited to get going. I've always been kind of interested in fanzines, I think they're always so original and creative and less definitely less mainstream than an ordinary magazine, and they're created by ordinary people rather than huge mass producing companies. I've recently had to do some research into the popular Punk fanzine called 'Sniffin' Glue' for my dissertation, which was about the Punk subculture, so having some knowledge on fanzines has already had me thinking about all the creative ways I could take it.
I love the creativity of a magazine layout and love cutting, sticking and collaging, and after having a couple of months feeling not at all creative or inspired I'm glad to have something to do that is actually getting me excited to create again. Not only do I get to create something visual but I also get to contribute some writing to the fanzine, which is something I love doing and haven't really had the chance to do on the course. While I still haven't settled on a name or a definitive theme for the fanzine, I know I want it to be for someone like me, nothing too mainstream, influenced by music and alternative fashion, something that's edgy and aesthetically pleasing to look at. I want to include fashion, beauty and music in the fanzine, as well as some written content that you'd find on my blog or some poetry, typical fanzine sort of content. I just want to combine everything I love into one product that I can share with everyone, to express who I am through my work in a way that is creative, original and would help me a considerable amount if it came to me getting a job at a magazine company.
While I have yet to finish this fanzine, I really wanted to write a quick post about what I'll be doing over the next couple of months and for my last project at university, but I'm planning on writing up a post and sharing with you my final fanzine when it is totally complete. So far I have created a tiny little fanzine using some magazine clipping just to get started on looking at layouts and what content I want to include, I hope you enjoy the pictures I've included of it. I can't wait to see where this takes me; maybe I'll start looking into creating a proper fanzine after the course. Let me know in the comments below what you think of the mini fanzine I've created so far and come back to my blog soon to see me share my final product with you all.
India X