Craic Magazine is an anarchistic, tongue-in-cheek ode to Northern Ireland

When James Robinson moved across waters from Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, to pursue his creative outlets in Fashion Communication at University of the West of England, he realised how important it was to embed his identity and experiences into his work – something that hadn’t been taught to him at an all boys school back home. Following some unpaid PR internships and feeling like he needed to create something with roots in Ireland, James set out to create Craic Magazine, borrowing from the Irish slang word for entertainment or more commonly, to mean “what’s happening?”. The answer to that question is in these very anarchistic, scruffy and truthful pages of excellent zine-making.

“I saw Craic as an idea, an opportunity to bring people together – a community project of sorts, something that people could look at and resonate with, no matter where you grew up or what political position you held,” says James. “I had the ability to recognise the sheer amount of talent in Northern Ireland, and realised there was nothing out there that was speaking to people culturally at the time.” Wanting to create something like the i-D or Dazed for the ceasefire generation (those born post the 1998 Good Friday Agreement), Craic Magazine takes cultural relevance in its newest 40-pager issue Coming & Going, focusing on James’ story of leaving Northern Ireland in search of a new journey, leaving old feelings, friends and family behind and the constant longing to go back and reconnect with them.

Using no time stamps and leaving out explanations about the photographs themselves, James leaves it up to the viewer to figure out their relevancies and consequently, suggests personal exploration. “A big factor in deciding images and stories for Craic is representation, and championing the voices who need it the most in Northern Ireland – including queer voices, the marginalised, the outer-city kids who deserve their chance in the spotlight,” says James. Irish cultural easter eggs can be found too in the title font, a faux Celtic typeface inspired by shop signage and iconography you’d commonly come across in towns and villages in Northern and South of Ireland. When paired with the cover’s Taytos adorned warrior (equipped with Thor’s Mjolnir no less), the cover image recalls a comically suburban Dungeons & Dragons.

The design of the magazine follows a traditional photobook format, however with relatively little to no graphic design training, James relied on his DIY sensibilities and heart for storytelling to allow the story of the images to guide the order of the layout. In this issue, it’s all flirting – with possibility, with history and with storytelling – all told in an endearing, grounded fashion. “Ultimately I hope people can take away something positive from Craic, even if it’s a reminder of home or inspiring them to whip out their camera and take more photos,” says James. “There’s so much joy and possibility in publishing, and the people you meet along the way.”