SELF PUBLISHING - RESEARCH BRIEF - ZINE PRODUCTION

Sketches 

As I already had a good idea of what I wanted to do at this stage in term of the layout, I used sketches to help me figure out how images could be arranged on the spreads. I found that I would only be able to have around 3/4 images on a page which I thought was good as there is a good balance of having a series of images over a spread and having too many images. This something that my grid system will help me with went designing on the computer as everything also needs to considered correctly rather than just being placed where ever. 

Use of grid system

Using this 10 x 15 square modular grid system it has allowed me to appropriately add all of the content on to the pages - the grid makes everything equally spaced out which is important with the type of layout style that I have decided to create. The layout style that I have designed is influenced by other photo essay zines which layout images in this sort of style. As the zine is a photo essay this is also another reason for a large number of photos on the page is it needs to show a collection of images together to help tell the story of Converse. 

The Beginnings

The zine beggings with the images of the original Converse shoe, Chuck Taylor and the early days of the basketball culture that was created by the shoe. You can see from the images how the shoe started its life as a sports shoe and how they were used at the time. 

Basketball (The height of Converse) 

The second spread moves on to the height of the Converse in basketball - the images show some of the best NBA players of the time sporting the shoe. As this was a very good time for the shoe I wanted to shoes being used in the best way possible. The layout highlights some of the best moments for the shoe at this time and shows how much of a stable the shoe was for the athletes.  

Celebrities/Films

For this spread, I wanted to show how the shoe has been worn by almost every major celebrity over the last 50 years. As well as being featured in many Hollywood films, which shows how important the show has been throughout popular culture, as many people would be influenced by the major celebrities that have worn the shoe. 

Music Icons

Throughout the history of Converse, different music icons (Kurt Cobain, Robert Plant and Ramones) have sported the Converse which had made the shoe even more popular among the many subcultures surrounding the music. This spread shows how influential the shoe was when worn by the big rock stars of the time which also shows how important the show is to the subcultures that link to the different music icons. 

Skateboarding

Being one of the biggest subcultures to date the Converse has been a staple part of the skate scene since the very beginning. The spread documents how the shoes are still popular today and lend themselves perfectly to the skater look. Within the pages, I have shown some of the most popular skaters of today still wear the shoe and how important the show is to this subculture. 

Now (Collaborations) 

For the last spread, I wanted to show how far Converse has come in terms of creativity and style. Over the last 10 years, Converse has seen a much-needed return to mainstream culture with the likes of Tyler The Creator collaboration with the brand to release this own version of the iconic One Star which has been a huge success for Converse. The spread also shows how far the shoe has come from the original basketball shoe and helps to round up the history of Converse through images. 

Front cover 

As the zine is going to be part of a series for WYS Rob and I have decided on a style for the covers. Each zine that we produce will use coloured stock that best links to the subject of the zine. In this case, I will be using red paper to represent one of the most iconic colours of the Chuck Taylor shoe. From analysing the shoe for some inspiration I was able to pick up on some small details that I thought might make the cover more interesting. 

• Three stars from the heel cap
• "CONVERSE ALL STAR" typeface (Super Clarendon - closest match*) 
• The more contemporary Converse logo typeface (replica on DaFont) 
• Iconic Converse STAR in a circle 

Looking at all six of these covers and asking Rob and other peers I decided to choose "CHUCKS CHUCKS CHUCKS" for the front cover and then the single ALL STAR circle to be on the back but slightly smaller. The reasoning behind this was that I didn't want to give too much away from the cover - "CHUCKS" is also the nickname for the shoe so it only seemed right as the zine is a fanzine of the shoe and that is something that a Converse fan would do (which I am)