Instead of going into BIPOC cultures, I will be reviewing an interactive AR zine based on an artist’s experience with ADHD and my conversation with them about their design process. I believe this topic still intersects with the challenge’s main learning objective of reflecting from an EDIDA framework perspective.
As someone with ADHD myself, it was an refreshing to see a common experience visualized in a way that was thoughtful and creative. I have included the QR code to the zine in the blogpost below, and purposefully excluded any screenshots, as to not detract from the AR experience for the readers.
In a corner, someone was showcasing their zines, which piqued my interest. I initiated a conversation with the artist, Rowan (@keeponcreative), who created an interactive AR zine on their ADHD experience.
Before continuing to the rest of the blogpost, please take some time and experience the AR interactive zine yourself here:
Rowan created this zine to visualize the ADHD experience first-handedly through the interactive dialogue panels of a conversation. They hope to increase the ADHD awareness so that neurotypicals can understand the challenges that ADHD folks have during conversations with others.
They created the experience in Adobe Aero, and intertwined the digital interface of AR with the analogue form of zines and illustrations seamlessly.
In a choose-your-own-adventure type of interaction, the reader can choose from three different paths in a text message style conversation, with an insider view into the internal monologue; visual distractions obfuscating the dialogue bubbles; and rapid fire walls of texts.
Some aspects Rowan chose to focus on was:
Info-dumping: Sharing a large amount of detailed information about a topic of interest is a way ADHD folks connect with others and to express that they’re excited about a specific topic. However, sometimes it may come off as overwhelming or dominating the conversation.
Distractions: Staying on top of the conversation thread can be a challenge for ADHD folks, while overstimulating environments can also effect attention and participation in a conversation.
Interruptions: for many ADHD folks, the mind stays active and often thoughts get left behind and fade away if they do not get expressed as they come along. This can come of as rude or misreading of social cues when they interrupt conversations.
While conversing with Rowan, I felt like they conveyed an AR experience that felt really close to my experiences with ADHD. I learned that they are slowly working on their capstone project, “Visualize”, that addresses the lesser known qualities of ADHD through experiential zine. They created AR simulations to supplement the zine with animations allowing the reader to engage in a more embodied way.
We also briefly discussed the challenges of creating AR experiences; the technical limitations using Adobe Aero; integration of more analogue forms of media, or making users want to engage in “going the extra step” to use technology in hand with art.
This conversation with Rowan has made me reflect more on the utilization of AR with DIY culture values of decentralization of knowledge through analogue media of zines, especially with leveraging the affordance of AR to embed an experience for more embodiment, engagement and interaction.
The purpose of the task is to critically examine the role of equity, diversity and inclusion within the context of makerspaces, while incorporating decolonization and anti-racism frameworks through the examination of the content in MET’s Anti-Racism Speaker Series. Design a maker challenge or provocation that fosters an environment of equal participation, cultural understanding, and social justice within the makerspace community.
Choose one Anti-racism Speakers Series presentation or podcast to frame the challenge/provocation. Make note of key ideas, theories and research presented in the series. This challenge/provocation should actively promote the participation of individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those historically marginalized and under-represented in the field. Integrate cultural sensitivity and awareness into the design process, ensuring the activity is respectful, accommodating, and accessible to all participants. Use the following templates to design the challenge/provocation.
This provocation is designed to encourage students to explore the local bike scene and explore how community, identity and inclusivity intersect in cycling culture.
In Pedal Perspectives, students are encouraged to read some bike zines, visit their local bike shops, meet local riders and perhaps join a biking event, and consider the ways that these spaces are — or are not — accessible and welcoming. How do gender, race and identity shape our experiences in these spaces?
While cycling has surged in popularity as a mode of transport, fitness and community engagement, scholarly research on bike culture remains scarce. Traditional academic circles often overlook the nuanced, lived experiences of cyclists, especially those from marginalized groups.
In conjunction with the Anti-Racism Speakers Series podcast Pervasive Racism and the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community, guest speakers Alex DeForge and Meera Dhebar talk about the lack of meaningful representation, the impact of stereotypes, and need for more intentional and inclusive effort to reflect diverse identities. Both speakers emphasize that critical literacy is the key to empower individuals, and to understand the diversity and depth of the bike community, we need to explore beyond mainstream publications and delve into more underground and personal spaces – like zines.
“The history of lack of women, LGBTQIA+, and BIPOC representation in cycling reveals their marginalization and exclusion, especially in cycling media and sport. And it speaks to a bigger cultural issue of how marginalized groups are continually ignored and misrepresented. We cannot shy away from telling our stories in cycling just because it doesn’t suit the narrative the cycling industry sells.” (Cyclista Zine, 2019)
Zines are booklets (like magazines) that are used to share information, knowledge or experiences with others. They are often made with pen, paper, and collage techniques. They can also be made on computers using digital publishing software.
These DIY publications offer a more authentic look at the voices, struggles and triumphs within biking subcultures, often addressing topics such as gender identity, race, accessibility and social justice that are otherwise absent in academic discourse. By engaging with zines, we can gain more personal and grassroots perspectives that shape biking culture, and illuminate the vital, under-represented voices that mainstream studies miss.
Through guided reflections and interactive exploration, and creating your own zine, this project encourages students to investigate how their own backgrounds and identities relate to the biking community, in hopes to start a conversation about inclusivity, equity and what it means to belong and participate in a community.
Materials and Resources Required
Device (computer, tablet, phone) to take notes or document reflections
Pencil, pens, paper, magazines, flyers, art/craft supplies etc.
Optional: access to a bicycle
Inclusive Maker Provocation Instructions
Part 1: Pre-activity Reflection — Understanding your own positionality in bike culture
Think about your current experiences and knowledge when it comes to biking and bike culture. By reflecting on these questions beforehand, you can better understand your personal lens and become more aware of how your own experiences and identities shape the way you engage with biking spaces and community interactions.
Some questions to consider:
What is your personal history with biking? Do you view it more as a form of transportation, recreation, fitness or something else?
How often do you engage in biking activities, and in what kinds of spaces (i.e. recreational trails, urban commutes, group events)?
Have you experienced barriers to accessing biking spaces, whether economic, social, physical, etc.? How have they shaped your relationship to biking?
Do you see people who share your identity and background in biking spaces you frequent? How does this affect your sense of belonging?
Are there stereotypes or assumptions within biking culture that impact on how people perceive you or that shape how you perceive others?
Part 2: Participate —
Visit your library’s zine section
Visit your library’s zine section, and browse the selection of bike-related zines
Select a few zines to read, pay attention to the different voices, styles and stories represented
Take notes on reoccurring themes, especially in relation to gender, race, accessibility or personal experiences in the bike community
Some questions to consider:
Who is the author and how does their background and identity impact their experiences within the bike community?
How do the perspectives in the zines compare with the mainstream cycling media or bike shops?
What issues or themes appear frequently across the zines? What is something novel or surprising that you’ve noticed about the zines? What are some themes that you can relate to personally?
How do the zine creators express their identities and experiences through their zines? Are there recurring challenges or barriers that they discuss?
How do the zines influence your understanding of the biking community? How does that affect your perspective of your understanding of the bike community?
If you do not have a zine section at your local library, consider reading through online eZines related to bike culture, here are some recommendations:
Cyclista Zine Library : a collaborative zine made from intersectional feminist and DIY culture lens. It is run by zinester Christina Torres and celebrates intersectional feminism through zines, live events and workshops.
QZAP: Queer Zine Archive Project – Dykes and Bykes
Microcosm Publishing Bike Zines : should you have the funds and means, check out some bike zines Microcosm Publishing, a zine publisher based in Portland, Oregon.
Part 3: Create — Record and share your experiences in a zine
Follow the instructions above to make a simple one-page zine as a base to document your reflections from the previous activities.
Embellish your zine with illustrations or make a collage with my arts and crafts supplies that you have available.
How do you feel about entering spaces that may be new or unfamiliar? Are there any assumptions or expectations you hold about bike shops, biking events, or zine culture?
In what ways are you open to letting this experience challenge or expand your existing views on biking culture, inclusivity, and community dynamics?
In what ways could this provocation be adapted to other subcultures or community activities where marginalized voices are underrepresented? How might this broaden students’ understanding of inclusivity in various societal domains?
Background/Additional Information
Inclusivity Focus
This challenge considers the EDIDA framework with emphasis on exploring biking spaces in relation to the student’s own positionality, encouraging students to access who these spaces are designed to serve and who may be excluded or underrepresented.
The activity also includes diverse ways to engage with the biking culture and community (see Extension section below) – whether it is visiting a bike shop, attending an event, or exploration via zines — students with varying physical abilities, comfort levels and preferences can participate meaningfully.
Lastly, I have purposefully included zines as a source of learning as it engages with the decolonization framework by valuing non-traditional, grassroots forms of knowledge production and distribution. Zines often represent marginalized voices and disrupt dominant narratives, offering insight to biking culture and underrepresented voices often missed in academic literature.
No Tech, Low Tech, High Tech Options
Zines are quintessentially low-tech, DIY methods of sharing knowledge and experiences, easily made with pen and paper, and a photocopier if you would like to share and distribute your zines!
Some higher-tech options for sharing similar kinds of DIY content include:
Blogs/Personal Website
Digital Zine/eZine
Social Media
Podcast/ Youtube Channel
Extension
Choose an activity below and follow the guiding instructions to help reflect on your experience. These activities are made to include a broad range of involvement and participation, and are mindful of certain barriers, such as access to a bicycle, different levels of mobility and skill levels, and meant to expand in the different ways participation can look like.
Nonetheless, these activities and questions aim to deepen your understanding of the diverse, often overlooked experiences within biking culture and help you explore how your own perspectives interact with these communities. Enjoy the journey!
Visit a local bike shop
Choose a bike shop near you and make a visit. As you explore space, pay attention to how the space is organized and who the shop seems to be designed to serve.
Observe the shop’s environment, the types of bikes and gears available, and any information displayed about events or cycling groups.
If possible, strike up a conversation with an employee to learn more about the shop’s role in the local biking community
Some questions to consider:
Who does this bike shop seem to cater to? Are there specific demographics that seem prioritized in this set up, product offerings or marketing?
What aspects of the shop make it feel inclusive or exclusive? Consider factors like pricing, layout and accessibility.
How does the shop engage with local community? Do they advertise any events or promote social causes on their bulletin boards?
How did you feel going into this space, what about it made it feel welcoming or intimidating? Did you feel comfortable being in this space?
Participate in a bike event
Find a local bike event that is open to all skill levels, like a group ride or a community bike day.
Participate in the event, look around and make note of the people involved, the event’s purpose and the general atmosphere
Notice how newcomers are welcomed, and whether accessibility (in terms of skill level, gender, background) is addressed during the event
Some questions to consider:
What kinds of people attended this event? Are there particular groups that seem well-represented or under-represented?
In what ways was the event accessible or inaccessible to people with different needs or backgrounds?
How did the event organizers foster a sense of community or shared purpose? Were there any efforts made to address diversity or inclusivity?
How did you feel about participating in this event? How does your own identity and experience shape your sense of belonging or connection? Would you participate in a similar event again?
This was another very (((exciting))) assignment for me, as it intersected with A LOOOOOT of things that I am passionate about in art and technology, specifically in the context of print-making.
For this assignment, I wanted to deviate from the homework description a bit to share and reflect more deeply on a novel print-making method that I was able to experiment with this past year and how that ties into the “handwritten” vs “mechanized” dichotomy in an analogous way. Nevertheless, I have still included a brief write-up for the task this week.
Assignment
In my day-to-day I do both typing and writing by hand quite often!
On one hand, most of the tasks I need to do for work and studying for the MET program are done via typing. There is a lot of information and correspondence that is currently hosted virtually with technological devices, therefore it is more feasible and reasonable to complete them in this medium. On the other hand I have my mechanical pencil for practicing French verb conjugations, drawing comics in my zines, or journaling in my diary. Therefore, this task was somewhat familiar and easy for me to complete.
My tool of choice is usually my mechanical pencil — I don’t need to sharpen it, and it is easy to edit my work with an eraser. This is useful for language learning or creating sketches for my comics, as it is easy to alter mistakes and make edits on paper. Usually I use fine-tip pens for writing in my diary or warming up for drawing. When it comes to making changes, sometimes I cross the word out and resume, or work with the mistakes as a practice in accepting imperfections and being more open to where my creativity takes me. Sometimes, for sharing creative work online, I will create sketches with pencil and paper and then upload the sketch onto my computer to finish my linework and coloring. Though it is mediated by software (Photoshop) and hardware (Wacom tablet and stylus), I think there are still the traces of the analog similar to handwriting.
For me, I don’t think there is a preference in terms of media or method of writing. The most significant difference between choosing handwriting versus mechanized forms of writing is mainly driven by intention.
For example, handwriting was useful for learning how to write Japanese Kanji. I needed to pay attention to the strokes and how they differ from the Chinese characters, which was helpful for learning written word production. However, when I want to focus on sentence structure and syntax in written essays, I would probably choose to type instead of handwrite, as it saves some time and effort in the process.
Another example would be choosing to handwrite a card or letter. I was (and still am!) into snail mail and other analog forms of correspondence! When I receive handwritten letters, it feels like the intentions and good wishes have more weight permeates through lopsided, wriggly penmanship and silly illustrations.
Reflections
Module 4 was a fun deep dive into the history of mechanization and learning about the evolution and development of paper and printing technologies!
This intersects with my interests and previous experiences that I have with art and experimenting with different mediums (i.e. linocut ex libris, screen-printing on fabric, paper-making and book-binding, Chinese calligraphy)
Currently, I have found a comfy corner where I can explore all of these and integrate it with language, storytelling, and comics in the form of zines!
Recently, I volunteered at the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival (VanCAF) that finally happened after 2 whole years of hiatus due to the pandemic. It felt so revitalizing to see all the wonderful art and chat with the talented artists, and it made me realize once again how wonderful art can be!
Risograph Revival
One thing that I noticed (for sometime now) and saw at the festival is the revival of risograph printing in the zine and art community in the past few years. Risograph originated in post-war Japan by Noboru Hayama, and can be described as the hybrid of screen-printing and photocopy. It is both the name of the printer and the soy-based ink that was a more affordable alternative to emulsion ink at the time. A few reasons why it is so beloved by the art community is its ability to create high-quality prints with many vibrant color options, and is usually less expensive when printed at high volumes, which makes it a fast and accessible way to create and distribute artwork in general!
Below I have included a brief comprehensive introduction made by Moniker Press, a local risograph print studio based in Vancouver!
Experimentation- trial and error (so many!!)
Last year when I was living in Taipei, I had the chance to learn and experiment with riso-printing at local print studio RetroJam.
One main thing that I forgot and re-experienced during this experience is how much of the creative process is just understanding the technological aspect of the medium and the mechanisms involved in the process. There are so many intricate details to pay attention to when it comes to preparing artwork so that you can maximize the potentials of riso-printing, while working within its limitations!
On the topic of “handwritten” vs “mechanized” comparison in this assignment, there was something that I found analogous to this dichotomy in context of riso-printing. Below, I will share the two different methods that I approached riso-printing, and my thoughts about the process, while relating it back to some of the readings from Module 4.
As a preface, here are some things to know about riso-printers and the printing process. I have also included my own art to illustrate how it works!
Riso-printers register grayscale information and converts to bitmap to create “master” stencil for the color layers
Riso-printers are similar to a copy machine, as it has a scanner table on top. Therefore, one can create hand-drawn sketches and scan them for print.
The other option is to create digital files and connect to printer for print.
Riso-printers are similar to screen-printing, as it prints colors in separate layers. Therefore, you would need to create a separate stencil (or file) for each color you use
Axolotl Blue LayerAxolotl Pink LayerAxolotl Color Proof
Digital distress – file setup and challenges
My axolotl print was hand-drawn on my tablet on Photoshop, though the process was manual, most of the post-editing was done digitally. My biggest challenge was the color separation process and visualizing what it would look like in color. I had to constantly switch back and forth between the my layers to make sure I was drawing on the correct one for the color that I wanted. In addition, the grayscale % can also affect the opacity and tone when colors overlap, so my color proof is just an approximation of what the final print can look like.
I went to the studio and got a sample print to see what it actually looks like. For my gradient background, there was a part where it just stopped abruptly, as the grayscale % was too light for the printer to register. In another part, it was difficult to see the pink through the blue, so I had to make adjustments to so that only the pink line art shows through. Much of riso-printing is through trial-and-error, which is both a fun and painstaking process!
Correcting mistakes and making adjustments is both convenient and inconvenient. It is convenient as most of the adjustments are made by the tools in the software. It is inconvenient, as I will need to depend on the tools to even correct anything!
Manual method – pen and pencil!
I had tried creating another zine manually with pencil and paper with the intention of scanning it with a riso-printer to see what the pencil texture would look like. First I created the line art in a black color pencil, since I wanted it to stand out more. Next I taped my line art sketch to my window, and overlaid another piece of paper onto it to create the layer for shading. That way, when the light shines through, I can see both layers while drawing. Though I could’ve done this with Photoshop, the fact that they were “physical paper layers” helped my mind process everything a lot easier. Also, with using pencils, I did not need to fine tune any grayscale %, as I could just change how much pressure I put into my hand, so having that immediate tactile feedback was very helpful.
Making adjustments in this method is a lot easier, as I can do it immediately with any pencil and eraser if needed. However, more technical things like gradients would probably require more technical skill on my end to produce that effect. Though I have to say, this zine was a lot easier to make, with less technical challenges. I probably bit off more than I could chew with my previous print project!
Sadly, I never got to print this zine in riso-print, so I do not know what it would look like physically– it is something that I eventually plan to do!
Zine Line ArtZine ShadingZine Proof
Risograph as a print technology is unique as it captures the characteristics of screen-printing AND photocopy, which ties into the concept “remediation”(Bolter, 2001) , not only paying homage to previous methods of printing, but rivaling it in its efficiency and cost, making it an ideal printing technology at its time.
What really stood out to me in my exploration and experimentation in the revival of risograph printing is that artists are actively choosing to use this medium for their artwork, instead of other existing cutting-edge print technology. Similar to Gutenberg and his aim to refine production value rather than change the characteristics of the medium, the riso-printer is really good at doing that for artwork, especially with its various available colors (even in fluorescent inks, which often in unavailable for digital print) , the way it looks when overprinted, and how well it captures texture on paper. Often times, it is the unpredictability and “happy accidents” that adds to the charm!
Lastly, risograph printing is affordable and high in quality, creating more opportunities for independent and self-publishing artists to distribute publications, making it accessible and welcoming for everyone!
References
Bolter, Jay David. (2001). Writing space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print [2nd edition]. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Moniker Press. (2015). Inside the Riso: A Visual Introduction to the Risograph Machine and Printing Process [Video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/141237371
Risograph. (2022, January 26). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risograph
