Role(s): Co-founder, Creative Director, UI Designer
11-2020 | 04-202

Grant Writing, Interface Design, Team Building, Print Design, Brand Strategy

Quaranzine was a design publication born out of isolation.

The initial swing of the COVID-19 pandemic was just beginning in the United States. I received a message from my school informing me that I would not be going back after spring break. In fact, no one would. With a suddenly larger amount of time on my hands I needed something to keep my mind busy with something other than stress. I wanted to start something that would act as a safe place to share feelings and experiences with my colleagues in the arts and sciences community at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Part 01. 

One afternoon, in the middle of lockdown, I was sitting at the dining table with my partner flipping through a book when it hit me. What better way to bring people together in an inspiring, distanced way, than through the design of a zine? Within two weeks I had written a series of grant proposals, secured funding and began the process of gathering contributors through Instagram, professor recommendations and all types of digital “word of mouth.”



Our mission: to bring together a diverse community of student thinkers and creators to produce a publication from and of our culture, an artifact of our times, and a forum for our voices; memorializing and preserving the human experience of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The branding of this publication was the first step. We needed eye-catching colors that were simple enough to appear cohesive with an array of aesthetically independent content, and yet be recognizable as a single publication. In the end, my major points of inspiration were the color-schemes of hazmat suits, the feel of the national biohazard symbol and the shape of the corona virus itself. The color of the project is a saturated yellow with hints of orange (#f2d845), and the logo is a customized sans serif font that spells out “QZ” with the virus outline represented in the hole of the “Q.”

My main motivations for the design of the website were as follows. 1) Keep the design elements visually simple to balance out the very visually heavy content. 2) Make sure that all content is optimized for the web and keeps the experience as smooth as possible. And 3) The branding is clearly cohesive between platforms—in our case, print, web and mobile.

As for the brand guide that influenced the creation of the print magazine, the process was similar. With the help, feedback, and input from a small group of fellow graphic designers, I developed a “master” which influenced the design of the remainder of the magazine. To make it to the printer on time, the 60 pages of layouts were completed by me and two other designers in less than a month.

While my partner oversaw the editing and word-processing of the publication, I led the art direction of the project, which included user interface design of the website and layout design of the print magazine. I worked with a small board of selected volunteers to work with me, offer feedback, create iterations and critique in the creation of a stable brand guide, the website, the print magazine, and a series of promotional posters. I hosted several remote-based workshops, a design critique session in the park and met with contributors over zoom almost every day for several months. In the end, we attracted a diverse group of almost 20 volunteers. This incredible team included copy editors, film photographers, artists, anthropologists, graphic designers and more.

Quaranzine was formed in the middle of a pandemic, at a dining table I had found near a dumpster a few blocks from my apartment. I filled the adjacent wall with visual exploration and imagery that helped me—and hopefully many others—feel less anxious and isolated. I am so grateful for the mass of creatives that heard our call and came to help bring this project to fruition. Quaranzine would not have happened if it had not been for all the volunteers that took time out of their days to contribute. When the project was completely over, I collapsed onto the couch with a sigh of relief. Not a minute later, I shared a smile with my partner, and we simultaneously said, “let’s start another magazine.”

Though the live site is no longer live, you can find a private tour of the site, or a mail-out print addition—while supply lasts—of the magazine through Emma Kopplin (emma.m.kopplin@gmail.com).