My sister said my zine looked 'too clean' and it made me pause

I was showing her my latest mini-zine about my garden, with neat typed text and printed photos. She flipped through it and said, 'It's nice, but it feels like a school project. Where's the glue stick smudge or the handwritten note?' I've been so focused on making things look professional that I forgot the messy, personal touch is what I love in other people's zines. Do you ever struggle with making your zines feel handmade versus just looking 'good'?

2 comments

2 Comments

riverf341mo ago

Too clean" is a real thing. I scanned a bunch of my old diary pages for a zine once. The scans looked so flat and dead. I ended up re-writing whole sections by hand just to get the ink bleeds and pencil pressure back. That mess is the heartbeat of the thing. Your sister nailed it. The school project feel happens when you take all the life out.

wyatt_chen861mo ago

Remember how old photos feel warmer than digital ones? Same deal with handwriting.