OUGD502 MEANWHILE PRESS QUESTIONS

What’s your name, where are you from and what do you do?

My name’s Mark Buchanan, I live in North Shields, beside the seaside in the North East of England. I’m a photographer, a graphic designer, I play bass guitar in a post-punk band and I run a small press photo book publishing label called Meanwhile Press.

How do you translate your ideas through your work?

I generally translate my ideas through trial and error. I usually have an idea in my head of how I want the final piece to look and then during the process my idea changes and develops as I work. I very rarely settle for the first draft or idea and constantly push myself to develop my skills and style.

I am aware you have been involved in several collaborative projects such as the Psalms zine.

What was it like communicating with such a large amount collaborators? 

Psalms was the 6th Meanwhile Press collaborative publication. To be honest, it was the easiest one I’ve worked on as the religious theme throughout was so specific. I’ve worked on books in the past where there’s been more of a buzz word instead of a set theme. People can interpret the words or themes how they wish and there’s no particular set of rules. Just with Psalms it was very heavily and obviously based on religious imagery. All the work was collected via email over the duration of a few months and I slowly put it together in my spare time. Because the theme was so tight it was quite straight forward to assemble, keep a flow throughout and create a relationship between the pages.

How long did it take you to complete such a large briefs like these?

I work a full time job managing a tattoo studio and all of my creative work is carried out in my spare time. Some jobs take a lot longer than others but I tend to work when I’m feeling inspired so it keeps everything fun. As soon as it stops being fun and turns into more of a chore, I put down my laptop and focus on something else. If I’m doing work for a client I’ll always aim to have the work finished well in advance of the deadline. However, with Meanwhile Press I’m my own boss and can work at my own pace. For this reason some publications are finished within a few weeks and other can take around 4-6 months.

Did you ever come across any misconception with some of the collaborators about the

publication during these projects?

Not really, I tend to be fortunate enough to always work with like minded people and I try to make sure we’re always on the same page from the very start of any project. Most of the contributors will just email me a selection of photos and it’s my job to curate the work and then design and layout the book. I’ll then often pass a draft over to one of my friends to get a second opinion and make changes after I’ve read through their annotations and listened to their suggestions.

Have you stumbled upon any other challenges during the collaborative process?

Again not really, because I always work with like minded people. The only thing I can think of that’s sometimes quite frustrating is the time difference when working with people in different continents. It can sometimes be quite frustrating working together over the internet and not face to face. It can be slow, but it does work. It just takes a little longer than I’d like sometimes.

How specific do you get with the briefs you create when involving such a large amount of

people?

The brief is only ever a theme or a buzz word and I allow the contributors to interpret this however they see fit. I like to keep it fairly loose to allow a wider range of work to come forward. This always helps keep the publication interesting and I often receive photographs I never would’ve initially thought of or included until you can see it from someone else’s point of view.

Any advice for young creatives who are collaborating with someone who’s practice they are not used to?

If possible try and work together in person, plan thoroughly and set time aside to carry out what needs to be achieved. Don’t be scared to criticise but make sure it’s constructive. Don’t just say something negative for the sake of it. If you don’t like it, explain why.

Are you working on anything right now? And if so what is it?

At the minute I’m only taking on freelance design work which usually consists of event posters for bands or record labels which I really enjoying doing. I’m planning a few publications for the new year and have a couple of photographers in mind that I’d like to work with.