Witch – Zine Layout Project
College Assignment | Solo Project | 2 weeks
Overview
A concept: me, in my cottage, in front of the wood stove, sipping tea. Looking outside, my bees are pollinating my expansive garden. My goats and chickens and cows are happy and safe. I feel content with my choices and my future. I unconditionally and recklessly love myself. The local children believe I am a witch. A case study on spiritual witchcraft.
Concept
It started with this tweet. This tweet made me feel so inspired, so connected to this message of love and self-acceptance, that I used it as a mantra in my everyday life. I couldn’t believe how many people have felt the same way, the tweet has been wildly popular. I started thinking about the connection between witchcraft and feminism, the way magic was used against women who were not liked in their community. From that came my interest in spiritual witchcraft.
For the biggest typography project in my last term of Digital Media Design we created zines on any topic of our choosing. Over the last year I have been getting progressively more interested in modern witchcraft and the way magic has been linked to women through history. I took this project as an opportunity to compile my favourite witch-related poetry, images, and other writing. I sourced content from various websites and publications, including social media sites. I wanted this piece to feel magical, ambiguous, and open to interpretation. While I do not believe in magic in the supernatural sense, I believe that all of us have the ability to positively influence our lives, with or without witchcraft.
Research
To compile the content of the zine I looked through tons of poetry, articles, photographs, and historical notes. After some consideration I chose to take a more spiritual approach rather than a factual or historical one. View this zine as a case study of spiritual witchcraft, if you will. I referenced a few articles on modern witchcraft for the themes of the zine. After exploring many facets of modern magic I decided to focus on plant magic. I am an avid gardener and have been connected to plants for my entire life. I love watching plants grow and thrive. I set out to gather material relating to plant magic and was surprised by how popular the subject has become.
Process
When I had all of my content in one place, I started developing a magazine grid. I wanted something versatile that would not look the same on every page, yet make the piece feel consistent. I chose Abril Fatface for my header font because it felt feminine, bold, historical, and clean all at once. For the body I chose Minion Pro, another serif font, but I felt it would be be fitting for a more historical feel. I edited my photos to be black-and-white, a requirement for the assignment. Then I used InDesign to lay out my text and images.
Result
I am very pleased with how the zine came out. I printed it, and feeling it in my hands was a huge reward for weeks of work on the project. To add a personalized touch I decorated the cover with real pressed flowers that I have collected. I hope you enjoy the digital version nonetheless. Here’s Witch.
Next Project
Farm Friends
Digitally illustrated postcards.
