Dream Labor Press is a self-publishing collective founded by a group of Chinese female graphic designer-authors who are based in the United States and China. Our work focuses on storytelling and fiction-making in the liminal space between places and identities.
By means of zines, artist books and other small publications, we play with objects, symbols and memories. We endeavor to communicate layered narratives that resonate with different walks of audiences and to push the boundaries of design.
CURRENT MEMBERS
Doris Liu
Zia Qian
Lexi Xu
Lihao Zhu
Zhenyu Zhou
FAIRS & EVENTS
Brooklyn Art Book Fair, 2024
Other Islands Book Fair, 2024
打开——Open M Art Fair by abC, 2024
Multiple Formats Art Book Fair, 2024
Press Play by Pioneer Works, 2023
Detroit Art Book Fair, 2023
STOCKISTS
Accent Sisters Studio
MCBA Online Shop
Instagram
Email
A vocabulary book created during the author’s hospitalization, this playful deconstruction of life, hospital, and gaming as a companion provides everyday illuminations.
130 x 260 mm
Perfect binding
54 pages
Read moreZhenyu Zhou
2024
A collaborative zine between illustrator Vyolet and designer Doris in the form of a museum catalog. It turns everyday trivia into a unique collection of exhibits with inexplicable identities and stories from the fictional “Museum of the Inexplicable.”
5.5 x 7.5 inch
Saddle-stitched
28 pages
Read moreVyolet Jin/Doris Liu
2024
A photo book of a poetic compilation of
flying birds, planes, window views in a speeding train, looking into the intricate emotional dynamics between traveling and returning, staying and running away.
6 x 8 inch
Naked binding with semi-attached jacket
60 pages
Read moreDoris Liu
2024
A set of experimental photobooks exploring how the practice of photography can transform people’s sensorial experience.
4.5 x 8 inch
Perfect binding/French folds
48/46/40 pages
Read moreDoris Liu
2023
An intimate zine exploring the awkward dance around finances between parents and their adult child, providing a channel for both sides to communicate through vulnerable sharing of emotions.
5 x 16 inch
Saddle-stitched
48 pages
Read moreZia Qian
2023
A visually-charged thesis that reflects on a series of projects exploring the tendency and underlying logic of meme use by collective narcissism groups.
6.8 x 10 inchThread sealing/Hard cover
186 pages
Read moreZia Qian
2023
A book manifests a new design paradigm that celebrates a fluid and non-binary way of thinking and making.
4.4 x 10.25 inches Perfect binding/French folds
74 pages
Read moreLihao Zhu
2023
A riso-printed zine on the
essence of physical book
reading experience.
105 x 210 mm
Rubber band binding
16 pages
Read more
Doris Liu
2023
A step-by-step workbook guiding readers through a new design methodology called “stream-of-conscious design” that transforms free associations in their minds into visual expressions.
5.5 x 8.5 inch
Ruber band binding/Mixed-size pages
52 pages
Read moreLexi Xu
2022
A riso-printed folding zine showing the visual experiment of Proust Moments.
4.25 x 5.5 inch (unfolded to 11 x 17 inch)
Single-sheet zine/Poster
Read more
Lexi Xu
2023
A newspaper layout design about memory and Proust Moment.
11.25 x 16.5 inch
Newsprint
8 pages
Read more
Lexi Xu
2023
A newspaper and a series of posters introduce the basics of Chinese and English punctuation.
11.25 x 16.5 inches Newsprint
8 pages
Read moreLihao Zhu
2023
A collection of photographs and original essays, created during the author's stay in New York City, exploring moments of “solitude” in the city that resonate with the author's own personal solitude during the pandemic.
5 x 7 inch
Perfect binding
68 pages
Read moreZia Qian
2022
A specimen of the original typeface Yu Gothic.
5.5 x 8.5 inch
Saddle-stitched
12 pages
Read moreZhenyu Zhou
2023
An accordion binding book to invite people to take a walk and promote a concentrated lifestyle.
5.5 x 8.5 inch
Accordion folds/Hard cover
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Zhenyu Zhou
2023
A spiral binding pamphlet aiming on “useless aesthetic.” The initial idea later developed into “Slow Appreciation.”
5.5 x 8.5 inch
Spiral binding
20 pages
Read more
Zhenyu Zhou
2022
A showcase of the captivating beauty of construction fences in NYC, unveiling a stunning collection of views, shapes, colors, and textures and inviting readers to see the world anew.
7.5 x 9.5 inch
Spiral binding
238 pages
Read moreLexi Xu
2022
A homage to the kaleidoscopic shapes and colors on the walls of hundreds of subway stations in New York City.
6.5 x 6.5 inch
String-stitched
110 pages
Read moreDoris Liu
2022
A manifesto declares the challenges and responsibilities of Mandarin-English bilingual designers. The use of transparent medium provides a reading experience of mixed languages.
4.25 x 5.5 inch (unfolded to 11 x 17 inch)
Single-sheet zine/Poster
Read moreLihao Zhu
2022
A self-curated newspaper aiming at smashing some of the misunderstandings about left-handed people.
15 x 22.75 inch
Newsprint
4 pages
Read more
Doris Liu
2022
A raw, intimate zine capturing the author's emotional journey during their first year of graduate school. Through collages, drawings, and reflective writing, they process feelings of culture shock, friction, loneliness, and pressure while finding joy and resilience.
8.5 x 11 inch
Saddle-stitched
32 pages
Read moreZia Qian
2022