Fruitcake is a magazine created for queer people in their mid-20s to early 40s. It embraces the intimate power of storytelling and collective memory by collecting and passing on queer histories that are often overlooked or erased. The magazine becomes a space for honoring ancestors, preserving conversations, and celebrating both the struggles and the joys that shape queer identity across generations.

The aesthetic of Fruitcake draws on the rich traditions of DIY culture, underground zines, and protest art — blending the raw, scrappy energy of xerox- and risograph-style printing with the warmth and intimacy of a handmade scrapbook or family photo album. I leaned into hand-drawn elements, imperfect textures, and collage-style layouts to evoke a sense of personal archive and shared lineage. The goal was never slick polish but emotional resonance — to make each page feel like you’re leafing through someone’s memory, layered with history, hope, and resilience.

In designing Fruitcake I aimed to bridge three worlds: mainstream magazine conventions, the personal intimacy of a family scrapbook, and the vibrant urgency of punk-zine energy. The result pulls these threads together into a unified, heartfelt voice. Covers and interior spreads mix traditional editorial structure with bold, expressive graphics, making room for narrative weight while preserving the expressive freedom of grassroots publishing. The typography, the layout rhythms, and the textured visuals all work together to reinforce that underlying spirit of reverence, joy, and community.

At its core, Fruitcake is more than a magazine. It is a gathering, a time capsule, a quiet act of resistance. It honors lives that might otherwise be forgotten. It invites readers to connect to a lineage of queer experience, to recognize themselves in the stories, and to feel seen as part of a continuum. For me, as a designer and as someone who values visibility, identity, and care, Fruitcake was an opportunity to use design as a vessel for empathy, history, and collective remembering.