A Collage Workshop for Design Justice Zine-making

On Tuesday 31 March 2026, for the tenth session of the postgraduate module I lead, INM317 Design Justice, I invited Elisabetta Lando and Simon Abbott to facilitate a collage workshop as part of hands-on activities related to zine-making.

The session introduced collage as a creative language, both an artistic method and a way of expressing ideas and meaning. Students experimented with different techniques and materials, exploring collage through hands-on making and what was framed as "hand intelligence". As discussed during the session, collage can function not only as a visual practice but also as a form of semantic innovation that cuts across modalities .

Working in groups, students created individual collages in response to prompts, using cutting, tearing, layering and recomposition as ways of thinking through ideas. Materials were provided, including old magazines, newspapers, comics, rounded-tip scissors, glue sticks and sheets of paper. Some students shared their work using the visualiser, describing their process and what the outcomes meant for them. These moments of reflection highlighted different interpretations and approaches, reinforcing collage as a communicative and exploratory method.

The workshop supported broader learning objectives around collaboration, reflection and the development of a clear creative intention, in this case oriented towards zine-making. Students considered how collage might inform the structure, content and purpose of their zines.

This session built on earlier lecture sessions on comics and speculative design, extending these approaches through collage as a method for thinking, making and communicating.

Collage was explored as a form of brainstorming, mindmapping and drafting layouts and content, as well as an important component in the material and cultural history of zines and DIY communities. The emphasis on hand intelligence resonated with earlier discussions on digital attention fracking, offering an alternative mode of focused, critical and creative engagement.

My thanks to Elisabetta and Simon for a generous and thoughtful, inspiring and useful session, and congratulations to all students who participated so enthusiastically.