This zine was the final piece I created as a design student before graduating. The assignment was to design a zine that guided the reader through a place in St. Louis.

While many students gravitated toward neighborhoods north or east of Washington University’s campus, I was consistently drawn west—to Clayton—for its quiet, its beauty, and its slower pace. During my final year of college, I lived alone in a small studio apartment there and developed a close relationship with the neighborhood. As my routine settled, the smallest details began to carry meaning. Daily walks through the streets became the highlight of my days, and the environment gradually took on a sense of comfort and nostalgia.

Focusing this zine on Clayton felt natural. I chose to combine my own handwriting with film photography—an inherently nostalgic medium—to reflect both the intimacy of my experience and the way memory softens and preserves place.