by abduzeedo
Discover Jaqueline Santos’ zine, “The Life Before Me,” a blend of editorial design, graphic design and personal storytelling.
Editorial design has the unique power to weave personal stories into visual narratives. This is beautifully demonstrated in The Life Before Me, an experimental zine by Jaqueline Santos. Through this project, Santos delves into her parents’ lives before her birth, creating a deeply reflective and visually compelling work.
The zine began as a personal quest. Santos realized how little she knew about her parents’ stories and sought to uncover their lives through photos and memories. What emerged was a project that bridged the gap between personal history and design, capturing moments that shaped her parents’ identities.
A Visual Archive of Family History
Santos utilized her family’s photographic archives, digging through old albums and forgotten boxes to find the materials needed to craft her narrative. This process gave the zine a raw authenticity. The photos are not just artifacts; they are visual fragments of a life unknown, pieced together to form a cohesive story.
In terms of editorial design, The Life Before Me leans on minimalist layouts that allow the imagery and text to take center stage. The simplicity of the design emphasizes the emotional weight of the content, letting the photos and short texts breathe. Santos also uses negative space effectively, giving readers a moment to pause and reflect on each page.
The Freedom of Independent Design
Unlike client-based projects, this zine gave Santos the creative freedom to experiment. Without limitations or guidelines, she could explore her personal design style. This independence shines through in the tactile elements of the zine, from the choice of paper to the sequencing of images.
The result is not just a zine but an intimate exploration of personal history, where editorial design becomes a tool for storytelling. It’s a reminder of how design can preserve memory, evoke emotion, and connect us to our roots.
For more on The Life Before Me, visit Jaqueline Santos’ portfolio.
