Glaze Zine Vol. XII: Zenith
Glaze is a community magazine dedicated to platforming talented creatives from all walks of life. Founded in Austin in 2019, Glaze has expanded into a full-size bi-annual print publication featuring the work of over 150 contributors. Volume XI was organized around the theme Phantasmagoria, with each story being an bizarre, dreamlike escape.
For each of these projects, a pre-existing team styled and shot a set of looks around a concept that they created. The role of the graphic designer was to lay out their images in a way that contributes to the story or mood of their idea.
ECLIPSE
Using astral charts, stone textures, and ornamental swashes inspired by Michel Le Blon, I wanted to capture the eerie awe of a total eclipse.
The spreads call back to the ancient myths of eclipses through blackletter type inspired by Carolinginan illuminated manuscripts, to match the archaic mood created by the models' veils, metallic chains, feathers and fur wraps.
Aurora Borealis
This shoot was inspired by he glow and hazy movement of the northern lights. The title is outlined in tiny stars, and the ribbons of light have been enhanced and duplicated digitally. The design was also inspired by the thin, undulating lines of Art Nouveau, bringing a fluid whimsy.
The photographer, and styling team requested a that the photos on the right side of the spreads to not have assets added to them.
Glaze Zine Vol. XI: Phantasmagoria
Fever Dream
Inspired by the hazy, high-fashion editorial photographs of Elizaveta Porodina, the team behind the Fever Dream spread wanted to replicate the vividness, heat, and confusion of an unwell dream state. After researching Porodina's work, and reviewing the team's images, I put together a moodboard for their approval. I was especially inspired by Porodina's love of color, gradient maps, and the punkish styling of the model's piercings and scrappy clothes
Once approved, by the team and the layout director, I modified a fiery display font for the title lettering, and surrounded the models in neon rings of fire that match edginess of their nu wave wardrobes. To better integrate the graphics, I added the blurry effect of a heat wave.
Head and Heart
Inspired by the anguish of having your mind and spirit take you in different directions, the team behind Head and Heart created gauzy, blurred images of two women in conflict with each other, and themselves. To match the frou-frou makeup and satiny, lacy wardrobe, I continued the feminine incorporated illustrations of a brain and heart-shaped locket as frames for the images. The blurred long exposure and swirling imagery in the accompanying poem helped me land on a curling, elegant typeface for the title text.
Following the same process as the previous project, I sent them this moodboard before diving into the design.
High Priestess
The High Priestess in tarot traditionally represents the subconscious mind, intuition, mystery, and the unknown. This team drew inspiration from these themes, as well as lifted the imagery from the traditional Rider-Waite tarot deck such as pomegranates, the purdah and the pillars. The aesthetic of director Sergei Parajanov’s 1969 film, The Color of Pomegranates, served as further inspiration for the color palette, props and compositions.
After watching The Color of Pomegranates, and reading up on the Rider-Waite tarot deck, I compiled more inspiration to this moodboard.
I pulled public domain woodcut illustrations reminiscent of the Raider-Waite style to frame the compositions, and selected a typeface that softly evokes the medieval origins of tarot.
More about Glaze
Big thanks to Arthur Magnum, Belle Avena for their support and camaraderie, as well as the other members of the design team over the years. Thank you also to Co-Editor Mariam Ali and Production Directer Maha Qadri for their feedback and hard work!
Glaze staff is centralized in Austin, but we have members in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, San Marcos, LA, and NYC. In addition to its publication, Glaze hosts five community-driven events in Austin each year, which are publicized on their Instagram.