A5 Zines
4pp Cover onto 300gsm Silk FSC Certified
Matt Lamination to outer
92pp Inside pages onto 100gsm Uncoated FSC Certified (6mm spine)
Cover printed in full colour
Inside pages printed in Black and White throughout
Trimmed, collated and perfect bound
Alison—known to her readers as The Ex-Zine Editor—returned with a follow-up to her cult zine Trainwreck Book Club, and this time, it was bigger, bolder, and decidedly more chaotic. Disordered Readers Anonymous began as two separate booklets but evolved into a perfectly bound 96-page A5 zine packed with neurodivergent storytelling, satirical book critiques, and an irreverent homage to self-help burnout. With mismatched googly eyes on the cover, a hand-stamped library ticket, and a bookmark tucked inside, this publication is as tactile and emotionally layered as its content. In this case study, we explore how Ex Why Zed worked closely with Alison to provide the print advice, artwork guidance, and binding options that brought her literary hot mess to life.
The six images of Disordered Readers Anonymous reveal a zine that is sharp, introspective and deliberately rough-edged in its aesthetic. This is not a publication that whispers gently from the shelf—it practically yells from the book pile in a voice equal parts punk, confessional and defiant. Every design decision, from binding to bookmark, helps shape an editorial ecosystem that’s playful yet serious in its message.
This project, printed by Ex Why Zed for Alison aka The Ex-Zine Editor, isn’t just a zine—it’s a visceral, tangible experience that evokes the nostalgia of 90s bedrooms, library fines, and book club breakdowns. The combination of its physical tactility and expressive content delivers a refreshing antidote to overly curated wellness manuals.
The cover immediately sets the tone. A mismatched pair of googly eyes stares out from a full-colour design, mounted on a 300gsm silk stock with a matt laminate finish. It’s bold, tactile and humorous—yet slightly unnerving. The hand-applied googly eyes shift this from a mass-produced object into something charmingly lo-fi. The hand-stamped library card in the corner creates instant nostalgia and positions the zine as a rebellious cousin to institutional reading culture. This is DIY visual storytelling at its finest.
Inside, we glimpse the hand-stamped library card in greater detail. It adds an evocative, analogue texture—bringing tactility, history and intentional imperfection. This stamped element elevates the physical interaction, embodying the book’s theme of “disordered reading” as both content and concept. The offset angle of the stamp suggests anti-perfectionism, reinforcing the zine’s ethos of resisting aesthetic sanitisation.
The title page plunges the reader straight into Alison’s expressive narrative style. The layout feels instinctive rather than regimented. Black and white printing on 100gsm uncoated FSC-certified stock maintains affordability while contributing to an understated zine tradition. Typography choices are confident—unfussy yet bold—and work in unison with wide margins and generous leading that gives space for the heavy, self-reflective tone to land.
We witness a modular identity in action. Spread layouts incorporate dense text with strong narrative structure. Bold headers punctuate the page rhythmically. There’s a deliberate rawness in the editorial design—a mixture of full-width justified passages and smaller text blocks that keep the reader visually engaged without overwhelming them. This typographic variety creates a sense of intimacy, as if reading a letter passed between friends.
In this spread, expressive visuals appear alongside a tightly structured layout. Books are listed, summarised or commented on—invoking the zine’s past iteration as Trainwreck Book Club. The neat indexing of chaos here is effective, transforming fragmented reflections into a cohesive reading experience. There’s editorial clarity in the disorder, like a bookshelf arranged not alphabetically but emotionally.
The final image showcases a back section dense with book recommendations. It’s a literary zine at its core. The column structure is intuitive, and content hierarchy is handled elegantly through typography rather than gimmickry. Alison’s voice is ever-present, making each page feel like part of a dynamic conversation. The 6mm perfect bound spine provides structural integrity while maintaining flexibility—ideal for a 96-page project like this.
Aesthetic Approach:
Disordered Readers Anonymous is a hybrid creature: part memoir, part cultural critique, part annotated reading list. The visual style leans heavily into zine culture: grainy, black and white interiors; cut-and-paste design motifs; and design elements (like the library stamp and googly eyes) that elevate what could have been gimmicks into meaningful narrative tools. These tactile decisions offer a layered reading experience.
Typography:
Typography is expressive but never gratuitous. It plays a functional role in navigating emotional terrain—setting tone and pace with thoughtful hierarchy. There’s a balance between dense text sections and open breathing space that mirrors the emotional intensity of the content. Font choices are readable and grounded, which offsets the more anarchic moments in visual layout.
Binding and Print Choices:
The perfect binding, in conjunction with 100gsm uncoated interior pages, brings a feeling of permanence to a format that might traditionally be ephemeral. The FSC-certified stocks support ethical and sustainable print choices, aligning with the values of a readership likely critical of greenwashing and performative eco-culture. The matt laminate to the outer cover adds a refined tactile experience while resisting fingerprints.
Unique Selling Points:
Message Delivery:
This is a manifesto disguised as a reading list. It rides the line between self-parody and self-help, using playful typography and expressive layout to mimic the chaos of disordered thinking. But it’s not flippant—there is sincerity in its construction. Alison orchestrates text, image and object in a storytelling experience that genuinely supports and engages the reader.
Where many print journeys start with a manuscript, Alison’s began with a confession: “I’ve probably sent myself to the back of the queue, thanks to the irony of, er, making a mess of a zine that’s all about hot messes.” That wry self-awareness set the tone for an engaging, human and refreshingly honest print project.
The follow-up to her acclaimed Trainwreck Book Club zine, Disordered Readers Anonymous had quietly grown into something far larger than initially intended. Originally considered as a pair of wire-stitched booklets (32pp and 60pp respectively), Alison approached us for quotes on both options, weighing the practicality of page count against production finish. It quickly became clear that perfect binding was the right route—not only for accommodating 92 internal pages but for giving the project a more polished and permanent feel.
Alison's openness in exploring production formats was matched by our commitment to clarity and support. She reviewed our Perfect Binding Guide and weighed the benefits of split booklets vs. a unified bound edition. Our team, led by Harriet and Mike, provided detailed custom quotes and clearly outlined the implications of each route. Alison’s growing familiarity with design tools meant she was eager to upskill, even attempting to set up the cover file using InDesign’s free trial. When that hit a technical wall due to software limitations, we stepped in with a solution—providing clear size specs and a cover template she could build on using Canva or Photoshop.
“InDesign is the easiest program to use long term but yes, if you're 60% of the way there in Canva, keep going with that.” – Mike, Ex Why Zed
That one line captured the spirit of our service: meet clients where they are, guide them when they need it.
Alison was fastidious with detail—she meticulously proofread the interior pages but continued to tweak the cover right up until the final moment. There was a brief mix-up when a proof for another customer accidentally landed in her inbox (“My New Brother Beau” made a surprise cameo), but this was quickly resolved with humour and speed.
Despite the multiple edits, the process remained collaborative. Every revision Alison sent was handled with care—whether it was correcting a misspelled author’s name or replacing the final cover file. She appreciated our thoroughness, and we admired her creative control.
“Thanks as ever for your patience & sorry for being a pain. I did endless proofreads of the inner pages for this one, but missed a couple obvious things on the cover...” – Alison
Even in these final steps, the tone was friendly, relaxed and productive—a reflection of the mutual trust that had built up through the process.
Once the final artwork was approved (“Looks great – all approved. Looking forward to seeing it in print.”), we moved quickly. The books were printed, packed and dispatched within three working days. We notified Alison of delivery details, even including a one-hour time window to make sure she was available to receive the shipment.
“Today is a WFH day, so that works out really well. Look forward to receiving them.” – Alison
The sense of anticipation in her final email speaks volumes. What started as a sprawling project filled with creative uncertainty arrived as a cohesive, perfect bound volume—with tactile features, a defined narrative structure, and unmistakable personality.
This project illustrates the power of collaboration between a passionate self-publisher and a responsive, knowledgeable print team. Ex Why Zed’s ability to interpret creative ambiguity, provide technical solutions, and guide file setup ensured that Disordered Readers Anonymous met its high potential. From quote to completion, the result is a zine that not only communicates its message with visual clarity, but also leaves a lasting physical impression.
This wasn’t just a job—it was a co-authored journey from chaos to clarity, from a googly-eyed concept to an iconic, print-ready reality.
