Business Card Printing

Hi guys! It's been a little bit since we've caught up. I could probably dedicate an entire blog post to my printing fiasco, which maybe I will about the highs and lows. But I wanted to post another resource I've found for those who are doing their business cards on a budget. 

With the turn around time for printing slowly coming to a close, there are options for doing cards by yourself if need be! If you have a printer, Avery brands sells blank business cards that come in printable templates. You're able to design your cards in whatever software you want, and then upload it to Avery's website for printing. 

From what I've seen, these are more available online but are sold in Walmart. If you see they're available through other retailers, like Target, that's mostly because they're available through their online store. If you're extremely pressed for time, Amazon delivers them pretty quickly (I got next day shipping on them). 

Link to the Posting: 

Indesign Printing/Setup Resources

With my writing beginning to near its end, we've reached the biggest challenge so far. Actually setting up the Indesign spreads and laying them all out. Now, trust me, I know this seems like a bit of a daunting task but lucky we have assistance! 

The website I've chosen to print with is Mixam! This was mostly from researching other artists printing videos, and seeing how good of reviews they've gotten. Depending on what you're printing, they're pretty affordable. They have tons of different options for printing, and even more options for specifications. If you're wanting to do all of the page layouts in-house, they have options for that as well. Not as customizable as Indesign per say, but you can get the job done there. 

But what I wanted to share incase anyone else was thinking of using Indesign was their very thorough tutorials! 

Tutorial on Creating a Cover and Spine Spread: [ https://youtu.be/UWyb-KeDcq0?si=-wFgxDKHCr739RaQ ] 

Tutorial on Setting up Page Spreads: [ https://youtu.be/YXikgW18vCE?si=M771_H9tt-Qply_- ]

Tutorial on Setting up Bleed: [ https://youtu.be/FG3GjYl7H_U?si=AqkZFl99SCYog9Nq ] 

As someone who is completely new to using InDesign, these tutorials have been extremely beneficial. Not only have they helped me understand how to go about setting up the page specs, but they're presented in a way that is easy to follow along with. I honestly didn't consider a lot of what she touched on, such as the spine of the book needing to be a certain size for the cover to envelop all the pages. 

Because it's straight from Mixam's own Youtube channel, they touch on different layouts for different printing styles as well! She talks about less involved styles and goes all the way up to proper book styles. I don't know if the woman who made these is still apart of the company, but she needs an entire award for creating these resources. 

Mini Catch Up

 Welcome back to the blog! It's been a little bit since we've sat down and had a chat, what with all the snow days and breaks in-between. I think this is a good time, however, to catch you up a bit more on how my idea has been changing. 

Although I adore the idea of being able to do a Zine for a project...this project is just a little too big for that. There's almost too much content for the medium, and my big fear was that I wouldn't be able to do it justice. While I could go the photo book route, that was almost a bit too visual and it would be really hard to get you to care about what I'm doing. So, after consulting both Laura (and ChatGPT with permission I could), I ended up finding something that I could fit the project into. 

A Travel Memoir is a recollection of a trip that is built around a central theme or message. It can be various topics such as how did the trip change you, what did you discover about yourself, what did you learn. This theme is then meant to be carried throughout the entire writing itself, acting like the glue of the entire project. While I usually don't like to do this, finding a label to put behind this project has definitely helped clear up some confusion. It helps give me more direction to find resources that actually are hitting what I want to do, rather than some weird amalgamation. Do I think this might be a little bit more artsy compared to literary travel memoirs? Maybe just a tad. 

One of the advantages of doing something more literary is being able to work on it outside of the Mac Labs. Not having to pray there isn't some type of class there to worry about. Both of the following resources have been super helpful so far with creating a balance with the writing aspect. One of the bigger issues that kept emerging when I started was that the writing sounded a little too...academia. You could tell I was trying to still be "professional" and that I wasn't writing like I usually would. While I was a bit hesitant to "go all the way" with the writing, a lot of writing resources really push you to! A lot of the appeal of a Travel Memoir stems from an author's unique writing voice; it's what sets them apart from each other! Upon learning that, I ended up completely changing the style I was writing in. While there are still some included educational blurbs/sections, most of the stories have been more geared towards creating a cultural/story connection. Experiencing another country-- let alone another culture-- goes so far to appreciating diversity and understanding of the world, and realizing that is what I want to showcase has vastly helped me feel more sure in this project. 

Resources: 

LinkedIn Resource: [ https://www.linkedin.com/advice/0/how-do-you-craft-compelling-narrative-voice-your?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&utm_campaign=copy ]

NY Book Editors: [ https://nybookeditors.com/2017/08/tips-writing-travel-memoir/  

Pivoting...?

 OKAY HI, lots of posts today, which is wild. But I think I've had some sort of epiphany.

WHAT IF I SWITCH FROM BEING A HARDCORE ZINE TO A TYPE OF MEMOIR COMBINATION. HEAR ME OUT. 

The two big issues I kept running into was that I didn't want to do a photo book, but I was somehow doing too much for a Zine, right? The pictures I want to use are more polished for a photo book and it would take some editing down for them to be suited for a Zine. The other issue was that I had a hard time trying to connect things back to being relatable. While a photo book of pictures from Paris is pretty, what else is there for someone to see? Which is why I wanted to do a Zine, so I could write in it, but that meant the compositions were going to need to be shifted around. 

SO, what I've come to settle on is a sort of travel memoir! Think of it being the best of both worlds. The homemade quality of a zine mixed with polished pictures akin to a photo book. The difference is that I want to implement text that's able to do a few things! 

- Tells you where each photo was made

- Give you historical context as to where photos were taken 

- Tells you how WE experienced it 

That way you're not JUST getting my own experiences, you're getting some other substance that helps add to the overall experience. That way you can truly see what we did, not solely through pictures!

Something else I know I ended up getting a lot of feedback on was the need for more layering. And while I didn't know necessarily how to do that since I'd like to make multiple copies, I did end up finding a few references! I think it would be fun to possibly have some kind of "hand-done" element for a few of the pages! Maybe not for every single one, but cute little moments that help bring 

 

Re: Zine Topic Feedback

 OKAY, This is me yapping about another piece of feedback! 

 I AM SO SURPRISED THE FLORAL ZINE IDEA GOT SHOT DOWN. LIKE I WAS EXPECTING IT TO BE THE WINNER AS IT COULD BE A WORK DELIVERABLE?? BUT HEY MAN, WHATEVER WORKS. 

The other thing that surprised me was that my photos of Paris were kinda/almost too polished and thought out for a zine, and were more suited of a photo album. Which, AGAIN I GET IT, but also like ... can I take that as a compliment?? Kinda the first time I'd ever been told I had stuff that was way too nice for my og plan, so it made me laugh internally during that moment in a good way. 

The other thing I really wanted to kind of mouth vomit about was the bigger theme. I toooooooooootally get that I didn't have a strong theme when it comes to connecting it back to other things. If anything, I think that I focused more on the meaning for myself and others, which I don' t necessarily think is a bad thing. But it still needs to be able to connect to people, and I lowkey thing that's where I struggle with. Like, how are you meant to make it feel relatable when it's just like HEY BESTIE I WENT TO PARIS. 

I do think there is a way. Framing it as a beginning, to middle, to the end of a trip. Talk about the emotions and narrative of the trip, "HEY IF I CAN DO THIS SO CAN YOU"

Theme Ideas (I'm spitballing): 

- "Take that Chance While You Can, Having the Courage to Go Travel" 

- Exploration of Culture, "Here's a place we saw, here's what it was about, here's how WE experienced it"

- TRAVEL MEMOIRS?? Which lowkey might be what my original idea was in the realm of ... ? 

- Journaling, Documentation, Recording a Part of Your Life to look back on

OKAY BUT WHY DO I KINDA LIKE THE IDEA OF A TRAVEL MEMOIR

Re: Zine Feedback

 OKAY HI, let's chat! So, I think the feedback session went well, although if I had a nickel for every time I had to present with minimal time and got loads of feedback that pushed me over the allotted time, I'd have like ... 3 nickels. 

Regarding the, "This doesn't necessarily fit the vibe of a zine," I TOTALLY GET IT. I think that's where I struggle with labeling. Because I didn't wanna make a photo book, because how in the world can I attach a bigger theme to it? Like I PROBABLY COULD,,,but I don't know necessarily how. And lowkey, I feel like I've been making too many that are focused on my face and body and didn't wanna do that-- BUT,  I don't quite know what's a step down from photo book. A photo album? Maybe bestie, Idk. 

But I think what I really like about Zines is the personality/craft behind it. I think the format has that room for it to be "messy", and not as pristine as a photo book/album is meant to be. Photo books (at least the ones I've been shown) lowkey give me coffee table book vibes, and they're all so. Nice and what not. MAYBE I COULD AS A BIGGER PROJECT, but not now. 

Going back to the drawing board, I found some different references that I think get me a little bit closer to what I've been envisioning. At this point, I'm going to have to include text in some way. That's probably going to be how I'm connecting the project to a bigger theme and what sets it aside from just being a pretty book of photos. Maybe it's giving photo book, maybe it's giving zine. THAT'S NOT THE POINT. But, I like the format of being able to show "here's the photo, here's the story/text behind it" MOVE ON. 

For some feedback, *maybe* this could be a good mix of typed out text and little hand writing scribbles. I like what Molly and Hailey said about layering it, and adding doodles to help get a more kitschy quality to the zine. 

Examples of a Zine

These are the examples of some Zines that have personally caught my eye! 

The one capturing the creator's Japanese trip also caught my eye for being geared towards being more of a photo book. I wouldn't say it's necessarily editorial, but it reminds me a lot of those really personalized coffee table books. There's intention in the spreads and layout, and I think that's lovely. The other thing that I liked about it was that it's a stapled or bound version and not folded. I've made a DIY photo book for a class before, and let me tell you, IT'S NOT EASY. But, I would really like to learn how to do a version that does look more polished like hers. 

The Sonny Angel one is a good example of how niche this format allows for. I mean, where else would you be able to make an encyclopedia dedicated to the different varieties of Sonny Angels? Plus, the fact it's all based on folding would definitely help for ease of actually making one. I would like to do one that's a bit bigger, however. Not like HUGE, but something that feels nice in the hands. Don't ask me why, lol. Little trinkets like that scratch an itch in my brain. 

The one capturing the creator's Japanese trip also caught my eye for being geared towards being more of a photo book. I wouldn't say it's necessarily editorial, but it reminds me a lot of those really personalized coffee table books. And considering I have dozens of photos from my trip to Paris, this could be the route that I go. There's intention in the spreads and layout, and I think that's lovely. The other thing that I liked about it was that it's a stapled or bound version and not folded. I've made a DIY photo book for a class before, and let me tell you, IT'S NOT EASY. But, I would really like to learn how to do a version that does look more polished like hers! 

Links in case the Videos don't load: 

https://www.tiktok.com/@beccagr4ce/video/7398966406919851296

https://www.tiktok.com/@drawnbynana/video/7298826530652785962

Capstone Idea

Capstone Projects are meant to be a culmination of the experiences in a college program, right? So naturally, this one is meant to reflect the skills, techniques, and tools that have been acquired over time in Bellarmine's DAT program. 

My idea for this project is a Zine! Zines are kind of like a homemade magazine or booklet, that are typically very limited in release. They're not really geared toward mass publishing, but that's not to say you couldn't do it if you wanted to! One of the things I love about Zines are that they're allowed to be extremely niche. They reflect the interests and personalities of the maker, which allows for so many different types of Zines to be made. 

While I'm really set on the format of the project, I'm not so sure what I'd do the Zine about. I would really love to do one that highlights my friend group and is a bit more playful in nature. But, I've also been meaning to do a photo book of my photos from a trip I took to Paris, and maybe this is the time to finally knock that out...? No clue, BUT I'M SURE I'LL FIGURE IT OUT

Welcome!

Hi there! I'm Mario and welcome to my blog! Your one stop shop for finding all things to due with my capstone project! Make yourself comfortable, I'm sure we'll spend a lot of time here together!