Archival research, collaboration and collectivism shape Becca Whiteing’s pursuits in publishing

Finding joy in the “gathering of ephemera” and “the tactility and tangibility of physical items that might otherwise be lost”, Becca Whiteing’s approach to publishing, is quite like that of an archivist. Often an exercise in in-depth research, collaboration and a gathering of found material “(gained in analogue and digital worlds)”, the transdisciplinary designer’s beautifully crafted editorial endeavours are all methods that she has found to use her “voice as a publisher to disseminate and (re)tell stories”, Becca shares.

Brighton-born and now London-based, the designer’s attraction to the world of print and publishing brought her to Berlin for an internship at Rimini in her Erasmus year during her BA in Graphic Design at Kingston School of Art. Her placement at the female-led studio, producing work for clients in the cultural sector, and her love for the work of designer, educator and researcher Mindy Seu have shaped her creative output and visual interests in “feminist discourse, gathering, and planetary thinking”. Seu’s manifesto of “sharing as survival” within the gathering of her Cyberfeminism Index has “embedded itself in my work”, Becca tells us — an influence apparent in the designers most recent project Circa: An inventive documentation of her research into “the marginalised existence of women’s presence within the typographic design cannon”.

Becca says: “my research is constantly evolving — without a beginning or an end”, with her exploration of digital tools, namely: “Excel spreadsheets, Google Documents, HTML databases and Are.na” alongside tactile, 3D, printed forms her work is furthering “the idea of books as containers, that can be shared and activated in new ways”. Amongst all of her publishing pursuits however, the designer takes careful consideration over the materiality of her printed projects: “Publishing amid climate change and human-made disasters develops my inquiries into the book — I explore sustainable choices in publishing, using techniques like soy-based Risograph inks, recycled paper, and local printing,” she concludes.