Week 14: Video, Web and Zine Documentation of A Friendly Hand

This week, I focused on designing a catalogue of all the past experiments that led to A Friendly Hand, while also refining the video and zine documentation of the project—this time, with a bit more earnestness.

Part ①: Designing the Catalogue a.k.a Catalogue of Making

I started the week by designing a catalogue compiling all the experiments from the research project Dreaming of An Interspecies Sensor. This part of the process was a lot of fun.

I decided to introduce more small iconographies—what I call the technoglyphs of an interspecies sensor—not just to decorate the project, but to guide the audience through cute semiotics.

To put simply: consistent visual cues to help people quickly grasp what the project revolves around, as well as the process.

Part ②: Drafting, Filming and Editting Video Documentaion

When I looked back at the first draft of my video (half-done in Week 11), I realised why I had been hesitant to show it. While it touched on an important issue, it felt a little too long and didn’t quite reflect my personality the way I wanted.

I wanted the video documentation to feel more personal—a tone that sits between reflective depth and playful engagement; somewhere casual yet still willing to deep-dive. I guess the best way to describe it is: something like how I might have presented to my Semester 1 self at Week 0.

So, I worked on a second draft, this time more closely following the script I refined last week. I recorded myself using PhotoBooth, just talking naturally. I kept it around 2.5 minutes—significantly shorter than the first version. As for the edit, I leaned into the flow: instead of relying heavily on internet archival videos, I made full use of my own documentation collected over the semester to tell the story.

Part ③: Zine-Making

While working on the outcomes above, I realised that the publication aspect of my outcome could also follow this tone—one that doesn't need to cover my early experiments in depth. Instead, it could feel more like a zine—something less dense, more engaging, and more earnest—to guide readers through the making and reflections behind A Friendly Hand.

Furthermore, there would be more value in making a zine, publication, or book that audiences might actually finish—especially from the perspective of a student project. So, I decided to go back to what I'm used to: making a zine. To tell my story viscerally and honestly.

For this new publication aspect, I wanted a more dynamic, DIY-spirited look. That means larger leading, more dynamic layouts, but still keeping a cohesive visual language—something not starkly different from my publication in Week 12.

In terms of content, it dives deeper into the making and thought process behind A Friendly Hand. It's a mix between a making journal and a critical reflection journal, but written in a way that anyone could understand—Arduino enthusiasts, designers, artists, or even a teenager (I hope). I guess I'm saying: I wrote it like how my Semester 1, Week 0 self (who hadn't yet touched Arduino or learned about human–nature relationships) could understand it. All while keeping it a little counter-culture—which, after all, is the point of a zine.