We Sow

Articles/ elements of the zine packs 

scale - strangers finding and reading on public transport

Design - not really bound, more separate sheets folded and collated. Hand done zine feel with hand-written type. Amazing colour combinations. 

Some subject matter - commentary on politics "make America great again" as well as sustainability and brexit.

More content - article on Grenfell. Interesting form too - receipt paper. 

More content - comics! Like traditional newspapers. 

We Sow is a French collective of three designers making alternative publications, designed in reaction to social news, distributed for free along the wind.

As all the information about the project is in French, it's quite difficult to understand the details. I think it's a relatively small thing - they only have just over 1,000 followers on IG. The premise, however, as well as the design - is amazing. 

I thought about looking into We Sow after reflecting on The Happy Newspaper. I really want to work with print, but The Happy Newspaper already exists and making a newspaper could be a little predictable? I had the idea of making mini-zines, and that's what led me to We Sow. 

I love everything - the premise, creating publications in response to current affairs and leaving them around/ posting them through letterboxes with the intention of educating. The form - they combine so many different sizes or stock and create numerous interesting folds. They also publish articles on receipt paper and little business card sized stock, all packaged in plastic bags. Finally, the design - the combination of type and image along with the colours is beautiful. Each one is risographed. 

One critique I do have is that they have a few articles on sustainability and the climate crisis, yet they produce a lot of these (they can as they're so small) and it's unclear if the stock + packaging is biodegradable/ sustainable. 

I think that this premise could translate really well into my becoming a solution to my issue. I like the idea of creating mini-zines because it correlates with my thoughts about not wanting to be bombarded with too much information at once. They're also really easy to distribute. Kind of like a non-profit, sharing little pieces of happiness?

I shared my ideas with a peer and she was talking to me about her issue which is junk mail. She said that within her research she had found out information about where advertisers cross the line when it comes to information (shown in the video below). I think this consideration of public and personal space is really interesting and is something that needs to be respected. Negative news definitely feels like its pushed down our throats and it's not pleasant. I like the idea of mini-zines as they can be peppered around public spaces, park-benches, public transports etc.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyWjHVmZWvg