Somnia Zine
Senior ATEC Capstone Project Spring 2020
University of Texas at Dallas
Viewable online: Somnia Zine featured on Issuu
Thesis Statement
College students and getting adequate sleep are not always associated with each other. Many college students struggle to balance work, classes, family, friends, and relationships which may contribute to a tenuous relationship with their sleeping schedules. While it is a known part of the college experience, within the University of Texas at Dallas community there is not much awareness or mindfulness about healthy sleeping habits being promoted towards students. Zines are historically a self-published mini booklet created independently by artists and writers to address various political and social topics. My intent with the zine is to spark thought and contemplation towards the reader’s sleeping habits.
The Process
A series of interviews were conducted with 10 University of Texas at Dallas students with short responses to a survey on their sleeping habits and how their school life had been affecting it. Students then proceeded to choose background images and do a free writing exercise for the background that was going to be projected onto them. Design for the layouts was based off of current design trends that would appeal to university students.
Style Guide created for Somnia Zine featuring trend colors such of the time such as Living Coral, the Pantone 2019 Color of the Year. Specific font choices and varied page colorways were chosen to align with student images.
Final Project
Final Project: The completed zine was presented at the Spring 2019 ATEC Capstone Celebration and placed on the Zine Library Shelf in the ATEC Building for students to view and read. Students interviewed really connected with being able to creatively and mindfully think about their sleeping habits.
Featured at ATEC Capstone Celebration Spring 2019
The ATEC Capstone Celebration is an end of semester event for Senior Students to showcase capstone projects that encompass their specific fields of career interests within the School of ATEC at the University of Texas at Dallas. Somnia Zine was a project featured as part of this exhibition in the Spring of 2019 where fellow students, faculty, and guests were invited to view and read the final zine.