Case Study:
Chattanooga Zinefest 6
Chattanooga Public Library
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Spring 2019
For Zine Fest 6, I worked directly with the event organizers to develop the event’s visual identity and to design and facilitate a live, participatory screen printing experience during the festival.
Chattanooga Zine Fest is a large-scale, annual, artist-driven event that celebrates independent publishing, print culture, and DIY communities. While based in Chattanooga, the festival attracts zinesters, artists, and publishers from across the region and beyond, positioning it as part of a broader national zine culture.
Photographed: Live screen printing booth with custom ZF6 design, at Chattanooga ZineFest 6.
The Project
My role in Chattanooga Zine Fest 6 focused on two core components: event graphics and live production. I designed the primary event graphic system used across promotional materials, helping establish a cohesive visual presence for the festival that reflected the energy, inclusivity, and DIY ethos of zine culture.
In collaboration with the event hosts and the Downtown Public Library, I also organized and ran a live screen printing table as part of the all-day event. This activation was designed to extend the visual identity into a hands-on experience, allowing attendees to physically engage with the festival’s graphics rather than simply consume them.
Live Screen Printing as Engagement
The live screen printing table invited attendees to print the Zine Fest 6 graphic I designed onto a t-shirt of their choice—either a garment they brought from home or a blank shirt provided at the table. Participants were encouraged to pull their own prints if they wanted, making the process accessible, interactive, and aligned with the DIY spirit of the event.
Throughout the day, I facilitated conversations around silkscreen printing, explaining the process, materials, and history of the medium to attendees of all ages and experience levels. The table became both a production space and an informal educational environment, reinforcing the festival’s emphasis on learning, sharing knowledge, and creative empowerment.
Photographed: Participant pulling the first of the two-layer prints.
Beyond the Event
Chattanooga Zine Fest 6 extended beyond a single-day experience. The collaboration with the Downtown Public Library and the success of the event became the foundation for a course I would go on to teach in 2024, using the festival as a real-world framework for exploring event design, print production, and community-based creative work.
By contributing both design and live production, this project demonstrated how graphic design can operate as a catalyst for participation, education, and community building. The experience strengthened my approach to designing systems that live beyond the screen and page—systems that invite interaction, foster conversation, and create lasting connections between people and print culture.
Photographed: Live screen printing booth with custom ZF6 design, at Chattanooga ZineFest 6.
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