OUGD603 - Research Brief - Printing the zine, final outcomes, distribution & evaluation

To produce my final zines, I used a photocopier to quickly reproduce each page similar how punks from the 1970's produced their own zines. After looking at  GF Smith paper samples, Ben and I felt that using cheaper paper would be more similar to the zines we are using as inspiration than high quality GF Smith stock. Because of this, we looked at the paper in the library at University, eventually deciding to use a thick newsprint stock for content pages and the thicker coloured stock for the front covers.

After the photocopying machine was set up it was quick and cheap to produce all 15 copies. These were also the main reasons for the zines being photocopied in the 1970's. I produced a breakdown of costs so I knew how much it would cost to produce more of these zines for the series for WYS in the future.

Paper:
front cover: £1.50
newsprint:  £2.00

Printing:
mock-ups: £2.00
Finals: £3.00

Although only 15 zines were produced, with the materials I bought it wouldn't cost me anymore to create 20-25 copies. This means we are able to sell these zines at a lower cost. Although they are cheap to produce, they are also time consuming as we would be doing everything by hand. This must be considered when selling.

The distribution aspect of selling these zines was also considered within this brief. Ben and I decided they would be sold on the WYS site and Instagram as  this was the best way to get the target audience to see the outcomes. We scanned in the books and placed then on a black background to fit within the WYS aesthetics, these were then placed online for our audience to see.

The final zine scans and photographs are seen below:



This research brief has been mostly successful and has gone to plan in terms of sticking within the intended time frame and producing appropriate deliverables. The final outcomes produced show similarities to the 1970's punk zines seen in research however, as originally planned in the brief the photos are displayed in a more contemporary way. The images stick to a strict grid system that is consistent throughout the design however are placed in a disjointed and unique way, representing the DIY aesthetics seen in research. Inconsistencies such as slightly non centred text and other photocopying errors are seen on some copies which also add to these ideas. The images that were chosen stand out and depict both the sub-culture's origins in the 1970's and their influence on mainstream society. Printing in black and white is not only cost effective but appropriate for the original idea.

The target audience identified at the start of the brief was a younger audience who have little past knowledge about the punk sub-culture. The aim of the zine is to show this audience examples of the sub-culture through related imagery, split into the categories: hairstyles, music, accessories, fashion and politics. This has been visualised effectively within the final outcomes without telling too much about how the are separated, leaving the reader to make the connection themselves. Looking into the distribution aspects of the zine has helped to better understand whether it will be appropriate for the target audience. The posts on Instagram that advertised our zines were popular and gave a better idea whether the zines would be sold.