OUGD601 - Practical Work - About Honey #2

       The legacy of queer zine culture has created the foundation on which queer publishing now sits.

       Almost all queer publications today, whether small zines or large scale magazines, utilise zine 

       aesthetics within branding, layout and design. If it’s a question of success between zines and 

       magazines, there is no winner. The production and distribution of zines encourages community, 

       and their amateur yet pioneering designs allowed them to remain accessible to a wide audience, 

       regardless of content. In contrast, highly produced commercial magazines are created to sell a 

       lifestyle, and a well designed magazine with a specifically designed exterior will create a 

       consumable and desirable brand. Although approached from different angles, both create the 

       same form of community, and both create vitally important representation for queer individuals.

                                                                               — Extract from extended essay conclusion  

About Honey was created during the research phase of the extended essay, and drew much of its inspiration from the initial findings of the investigation. Issue 1 took into consideration the design history of queer publications, and the majority of the  production drew heavily from zine culture. The design knowingly utilised collage-style layouts and a lower print quality so as to create a more accessible queer magazine for an audience who would be more familiar with this style of publication. However, it was not produced using the results of a full analyses of the design and production of queer publications today. As such the magazine as it stands does not fully adhere to the conclusions that were formed during the latter part of the extended essay, in that queer publications today have a greater potential for a larger platform in a commercial market through the use of more commercial design strategies.

Upon consideration of these conclusions, it is possible that About Honey could be expanded as a platform to further enhance the original concept. A commercial counterpart to issue 1 will be created, applying the use of commercial design considerations for branding and layout, and commercial printing techniques in order to demonstrate the potential for the inclusion of lesbian voices in mainstream printed publications. This will allow both sides of queer publishing to be presented in order to evaluate the most effective solutions for future About Honey publications.