Nostalgia: Why Does The Past Seem Better Than The Now?

"Nostalgia: Why Does The Past Seem Better Than The Now?" is a digital zine, created in the fall of 2020. This zine is primarily meant to be viewed on a smartphone (however, I am also attaching a copy in spreads, for the sake of the designs that are meant to work as a spread). Also, this zine could be printed for use as a display or coffee table book. The initial prompt for this project was to pick a subculture, research, and develop a zine that educates those outside of the subculture about it. My initial plan was to study 1960's psychedelia culture. However, I realized that was somewhat vague. I decided to instead focus on a subculture that everyone is apart of: nostalgia and becoming trapped in the past.

​My goal was to reference 1960's design: typefaces, grid use, styles, patterns, textures, color, and so on. Then, I compiled family photos from the 1960's era, and digitally manipulated them and aligned them with this narrative to build a visual identity around nostalgia, its impacts on our memory, and its impacts on our happiness. So, why does the past seem better than the now?