Noticed a shift in zine content at the Portland Zine Symposium

I went to the Portland Zine Symposium last weekend, and I couldn't help but notice a lot of zines focused on AI art and digital tools. Maybe 30% of the tables had something about using software or online templates. I'm used to seeing messy hand-drawn stuff and typed pages. Is anyone else seeing this at their local zine events, or was Portland just a weird outlier?

3 comments

3 Comments

noah_palmer4228d ago

Did you see any of the actual messy zines mixed in with the digital stuff?

patricia_king2328d ago

Used to roll my eyes at any mention of digital tools in zine culture. Thought it was cheating or missing the whole point of DIY. But last year a friend showed me a zine they made using a free layout program and honestly it was beautiful. The content was still hand written and scanned in, they just used the software to arrange it all nice. Changed my whole view on it. Digital stuff is just another tool in the box, same as a typewriter or a glue stick.

richard_roberts8028d ago

Yeah @patricia_king23 I totally get that shift in thinking, but I'd push back a little on calling a layout program just another tool like a glue stick. Glue sticks are physical and tactile, they force you to commit to placement and work with imperfections in a way that undo buttons and alignment grids don't. Still, I agree the end result can be just as honest and handmade if the core content keeps that DIY spirit, so maybe the real line is how much control you let the software take away from the process. What's your take on that line between helping and taking over?