I digress.
To digress means to ‘stray off’ from the norm. This statement was one of the chosen magazine titles by junior MINT Multimedia Arts (MMA) students Chase Castro, Riannon Roy, Igi Rollan, Ian lopez, and Kimberlee Balmes, who took the Zine Design class led by their program head, Lizza Guiterrez.
The class was an elective, in collaboration with MINT Senior High School adviser Isa Garcia’s Creative Writing class. As a part of the MMA Design curriculum, students were taught layouting, and the creative process in putting together print media.
For a whole semester, the five students attended workshops and lectures pertaining to print art. From their first-hand exposure to different techniques, they took these as inspiration for their final outputs.
Last December 12, they finally presented their printed copies to the panel composed of MINT SHS adviser and established writer Isa Garcia, and Creative Director Teks Pabuayon.
“[The magazine] has a different feel,” Castro shared. “Despite the challenges and frustrations in putting [this magazine] together, seeing it in print and to actually hold my work, it felt really good!”
Musings.
“Mag-breakdown?” Lopez said in jest when asked about her most memorable experience while making her die-cut inspired magazine.
Castro then explained, “I think, for us, we know what we’re capable of, and there were moments we felt we’re almost there, but we can't seem to get [our ideas] out.”
Riannon added that the the “visual translation” of their designs was the most challenging part in the whole ordeal. “You have your own style in doing things, but you [also] need to take into consideration the stories that you should put in the magazine. That was, I guess, the trickiest part to do.”
Diversion.
Unlike the usual creative process of putting together a magazine—which is to deal with a predetermined content for an issue—Gutierrez challenged her students’ skills by giving out the contents randomly.
“We were thinking, ‘sure ba na ito yung story?’ because the three articles given to us were completely different from each other,” Balmes shared.
Gutierrez then explained that she provided them the details that way to test whether they can create a cohesive output. “They really have to make it work,” she said. “I did it because it can happen in a real setting.”
She added that spontaneity is important when designing a publication, especially in a magazine. She said that there would be times wherein an article would still be in the works, and as the artist, they have to be able to prepared to change their designs as needed.
Established writer Garcia shared to the students the importance of making their design help the words be readable.
As for Pabuayon, she gave the students a near-perfect rating for their work. “[Designing a magazine is] like curating an art show. There should be a reason why something is placed on a page. You, as a designer, should know why,” she shared.
Ending the class, Gutierrez expressed her pride for the students. “I find it really fulfilling to see you all blossom through it. I never got tired of challenging each one of you to push your limit because I believe that you're capable of doing more.” W