born out of the desire to provide meaningful opportunities to working artists and art students, GRAPHIC DESIGN issue 01 is a collaboration effort of current and former university of connecticut school of fine arts students working together to create and sell a publication. this project was in progress from september of 2025 to february of 2026, but was first ideated in my spring semester of my sophomore year. knowing how difficult internships and jobs are to land in the arts, i wanted to create something that would aid my peers in their search for work and projects.
from the booklet itself, “this issue is representative of all of our issues. we came together to create the first installation of this zine about the problems we face and have faced as former and current art students. the lack of internships, the instability of jobs, the rise of threats to the field we devote our lives to, and of course the burnout we all feel trying to continue in our careers every day. by reading and purchasing this zine, you are supporting a group of 8 artists dedicated to securing a place in the world for the arts, ourselves, and others.”
in terms of my personal work on this project, i was the one to bring together the seven other artists that were working on this project, organize meetings between all of us, manage files, assist with the logo, organize all page layouts, organize vending opportunities, track spending/sales, and put in the order for the physical copies of the zines. this first installment has taught me invaluable technical skills in graphic design, layout, and digital formatting for the purpose of being transformed into a print publication. i hope to continue GRAPHIC DESIGN as a semiannual visual art zine, having each issue focus on a different topic.
my only goal in life is to create and help people with my creations. i could not be more proud of everyone i have worked with on this effort, and it fills my heart to be able to say i’ve created opportunity for exposure, bonding, and revenue for artists.
if you would like to support us, please consider following our instagram @graphicdesign.zip, purchasing a digital copy on mellyrivera.gumroad.com, or purchasing a physical copy. if interested in a physical copy, please reach out to us on instagram or at graphicdesignzine@gmail.com. yes, we ship!
the end result and the future
ARTIST CREDITS
Kasper, kaspwr.com or kasper.designed on instagram, contributing artist, editor
Riannaloop, riannaloop on instagram, contributing artist
Bella, buzzieb_ on instagram, contributing artist
Mel, melrivera.studio or hikik_0mori on instagram, contributing artist, editor
Bunnikino, sadsimp_p on instagram or bunnikino on tiktok, contributing artist
Katie, Hanbaycruise on bluesky, contributing artist
Hannah, https://hbrunofil6.wixsite.com/my-portfolio-hb, contributing artist
Zenitthor, zenitthor on instagram, newgrounds, and youtube, contributing artist