Bittersweet Muse Zine
This passion project was birthed from the practice of designing and curating my personal muse, performed through myself and a friend. Reaching within the depths of imagination and subsequent stylistic curation, I designed every aspect of her and the world she inhabited. Who is she…? Whimsical dream girl. Princess and the pea floating through a perfume spritzed, sugarcoated fantasy. Resigned to an aching solitude when she leaves the party, in a sort of painfully poetic way. Masquerading as your worst enemy, and speaking to you sweetly. Cowering from her own, intimately refined beauty. The tortured museum of her thoughts. Both rotted and preserved. Sacred and profane. Bitter sweet. Go dancing when asked, stranded, never helplessly. She's a painful romantic.
I took my fascination with opposition and beautifully pained juxtaposition and melted these characteristics with an aesthetic true to my own style. This zine is exists as a combination of moldboards, photography, styling, digital manipulation, and personal poetry. Any quotes can be attributed to Sylvia Plath, acting as a muse to my muse, complimenting the pained expressions in hues of pink. The piece on page eight is Fleshy Intestine Tent by Andrea Hasler. All of the carefully curated components were compiled within InDesign and resulted in a digital zine promoting my very identity.
Process
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Ideating the creative implementation of a passion project turned zine, crafting narrative visualization from the depths of imagination. I wanted to demonstrate all of my aesthetic particularities through a singular body: My Muse.
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I combined skills of styling, photography, image and text sourcing, personal writing, and layout curation to shape the framework of a self-directed concept. This stage centered on the creative and structural development—building the aesthetic foundation, refining the narrative voice, and mapping out how each element would exist in relation to one another. My goal was to fully express my personal aesthetic presence while exploring the breadth of my creative capabilities in preparation for translation into a final digital format.
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With the core concept constructed, I moved into full-scale production—compiling stylized looks, original poetry, and curated outside art pieces. This phase focused on execution, stringing together the pre-built elements cohesively within InDesign. It marked the transition from vision to tangible outcome, bridging creative ideation into finalized visual and editorial form.
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The zine demonstrates my personal style and design tendencies. Focusing on muted shades and hues of pink. Displaying my own poetry and connection to existing poets. Highlighting my fascination with opposition and the aesthetic of pained beauty. I didn’t know where this project would land, but through the process and loyalty to theme, I created a piece I was proud of.