Project year: 2014
Cadmium January 2014 (short-run student zine)
Published by the OCAD Student Union, February 2014

The OCAD Student Union commissions a different editor for each issue of Cadmium and I was approached for the January 2014 issue. The editor is responsible for both designing the layout and creating/obtaining and editing content.

 

The design imposes a couple of CJK typographical features into the English-language layout, specifically the italic angle of Chinese italic faces and the writing direction of traditional right-to-left vertical typography. In both cases things are perceived to be “reversed”, thus alluding to a “foreignness” of Chinese typography without resorting to clichés such as amateurish brush strokes.

 

Except for the requirement that the layout must fit onto a double-sided 11"×17" sheet, a few sections were also required, one being a new episode for a continuing story (i.e., a textual “exquisite corpse”). The story is presented in a mock manga format (in addition to the expected text version) to “justify” the right-to-left reading order.

 

Physical size: 4¼" × 5½", 16 pages

Credits: 

Artwork depicted on page 4: Biwei Tan, Ryan Pollard

Artwork reproduced on page 7: Larry Kwok
Interviews: Dick Margulis (copyediting-l), Robin Tieu (OCAD U), Stüssy Tschudin (RGD)

Quote on back page: Four Ways to Red by Dave Finkelnburg

Special thanks to Hilary Ashworth (RGD) for directing my interview questions to the right person