As I have not created a zine before, I have researched previously made zines within Behance to gain knowledge of zine layout and ideas for my own. 

Briefly Beautiful | Azmina Haris 

I was attracted to this zine mostly because of its pretty colour palette and illustrations. It has both a minimalistic and maximalist aesthetic look which is unique and is quite pretty. The have used a double spread most of time where both pages feels like one which is pretty easy on the eyes which is accentuated with the bright but muted colour palette. Their text placement is well done as they have placed them carefully around the illustrations which does not destroy the look of the spread. They also have used negative space which balances out the colours they have used.

What do you feel? | Anna Khomych

I was attracted to this zine mostly because of its used of butterflies as I have always been fond of them. This zine mostly focuses on illustrations and words are very limited. The monochromatic colour palette and texture from the illustrations work well together to as its easy and pleasing to the eyes. They have used both symmetry and asymmetrical layouts, as well as used contrast extensively. 

After researching zines, I was ready to start planning out the layout for my own zine. However, I had to find a typeface to surround my zine on. I wanted to choose a typeface that was unique and not as well known and did not want to choose the default fonts that most devices have as I am not the biggest fan of them. So I researched typefaces made by other designers. As I was researching I ran across a website that showcases multiple fonts made by individual artists. All the fonts shown were very unique but I had chosen one which I was really interested on as it had purpose. The font I had chosen is Agent Orange. The creators have made them to raise awareness of the effects from the Vietnam war. 

These are the layouts I had chosen based on the contents I wanted to showcase. 

These are my first draft of the layouts for my zine. I had a bit of trouble deciding on layout designs. So I had thought that it would be better if I had started to design on InDesign to experiment further as I thought it would be easier to it in colour. I also had forgotten about the reflections page which I had to design straight on InDesign.

I had started on the contents page as I thought it was the easiest page to determine the rest of the spreads. However, I did not like what I had designed first as I thought it was too simple and did not showcase the typeface well. I also wanted to experiment more with shapes. 

These are my initial layouts for my zine. I liked most to the layouts I designed, however, some of them did not look like it fit the rest of the zine. The design is inconsistent. I also wanted to experiment more with the font shapes and symbols. 

I liked my back cover page because I have used the chemical compound of Agent Orange to show more of the purpose of the typeface. I also liked the page before 'The Typeface' page as I have used an upside down '¥' as it looks like lungs. I thought this was a cool idea since the herbicide is a chemical that is breathed in which goes to the lungs. I have also put '*' symbol on top to look like a helicopter and the words underneath symbolises the helicopter spraying the herbicide down. 

I also have used quotes from that the creators have used to showcase their typeface. 

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Typeface: The Agent Orange Typeface

With the collaboration between two Vietnamese designers, Agent Orange Typeface was created in 2019. This typeface is based on the tragic event during the Vietnam War between 1961 to 1971. During the war, the U.S military decided to execute a plan where powerful herbicides were used to expose the Vietnam Troops cover. Agent Orange was the most common herbicide used in Vietnam. (History, 2019) This herbicide harmed many Vietnam residents, causing generational life threatening effects such as cancers, birth defects and multiple diseases. (Clevelandclinic, 2023) One of the effects of Agent Orange cause genetic mutation, causing many children to suffer birth defects which this typeface is based on. The art directors creatively used the anatomy of Amarillo USAF font, a font spray-painted on the U.S military air force fighter jets and distorted parts of its body such as the arm, spine, shoulders and legs of each letter, reflecting the cause of the herbicide. They have made two versions of the font, with the new finalised font being bolder to have a stronger impact. The typeface has a thick rounded shape while keeping some of the original shape and lines from the Amarillo USAF font. With the fonts boldness, they convey a strong, powerful and meaningful message to spread awareness of this disastrous event. (Gydient, 2019)

One aspect that is visually critical in Agent Orange Typeface is the rounded shapes within each letter shape. They hold a great significance to the typeface’s message to raise awareness of the happenings during the Vietnam War. By using an already existing font used by the cause of the U.S military air force, Amarillo USAF, and rearranging it to a new font is a creative and effective way to show off the issue the creators are attempting to raise aware of. The bold and rounded shape of the letters allows it to be used as great headers and titles, especially when used in a phrase that is attempting to provoke a message. The art directors carefully decided to maintain some shapes of the original font as a way to reflect the incident in the Vietnam War. The dynamic shapes that Agent Orange Typeface is asymmetrical, exhibiting the numerous effects of the herbicide.