VANESSA VALLEJO CUNILLERA
ART DIRECTION & COMMUNICATION DESIGN
SELF-PUBLISHING: NO NEED FOR PERMISSION, ONLY A PRINTER (AND NOT EVEN THAT)
I trace my self-publishing practice back to the greeting cards I crafted as a kid for special occasions: projects I now consider the first design works of my life. I took this recurring brief seriously, like a magazine issue, spending hours each year coming up with personalized ideas for my relatives. Even when making cards for the same person, I challenged myself to innovate. I put as much care into the cover and envelope as I did into the message inside, always working with paper-based materials.
This early drive to put together meaningful, hand-crafted messages has stayed with me, serving as a constant reminder when approaching self-publishing projects; perhaps as a way to reconnect with intuition and step away from the structured design training I later received.
What fascinates me about zines and artist books is their openness: you can create a project around anything that sparks your interest, no matter how niche. There are no rules, no need for permission, an audience, or validation; just the freedom to experiment and reflect a message in a tangible way.
I’m proud to be part of Unzine with Steven Catalino and Half A Hot Dog Collective with Samantha Teles. Our participation in art fairs and markets like The Tiny Zine Fest in Rotterdam and Tenderete in Valencia, continue to inspire me to create and share, alongside welcoming and like-minded communities.
Half-table available at your zine fair?
Want to self-publish together?
I’m all ears