The Queer Language of Flowers
QLOF is an illustrated zine inspired by gay flagging and Victorian flower dictionaries.
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Before there was 1-800-Flowers’s “say it with flowers” campaign, there were flower dictionaries that explained how to send messages to friends and lovers with flowers. While 19th century flower dictionaries focus on heteronormative romance, floriography—and sending coded messages—is hella queer. This zine includes some famous historical flower meanings as well as some created by myself and my co-author, L.M. Zoller, based on contemporary queer culture via art, literature, botany, and history.
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My Roles: Layout designer, co-author, illustrator
Tools & media: InDesign, Photoshop, Rapidograph pen, copper plate etching, risograph
Size: 8.5” x 5.5”, 32 pages
Cover: Risograph printed in Fluorescent Pink, Light Teal, and Sunflower. Illustration and lettering by me, inspired by the work of William Morris.
Interior: Risograph printed in Black.
Queer Flowers
In this, the second volume in the Queer Language of Flowers series, I was excited to bring my learning from design school to the type hierarchy and layout. The manuscript grid gives each spread a pleasant amount of white space and echoes the Arts & Crafts Movement inspiration for the cover.
