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2025

Shanghai Story

Risograph-printed Zine/ Side Sewn Binding

2025 Spring

12 Pages

7 x 4.6 in


 

Shanghai Story is a collection of windows, patterns and memories.


Shanghai is a city layered with history, and nowhere is that more visible than in the French Concession, where Art Deco buildings have stood quietly for nearly a century. I grew up surrounded by these windows, their graceful lines, their elegant geometry and they became part of the backdrop of my childhood.

It is been a while since I came back to Shanghai. Walking through the old streets, I began to collect the windows. I passed from Art Deco gems to modern designs. Each one felt like a small story waiting to be told.

Each page pairs geometry with nostalgia, a window, a pattern, a story. From a classic Ruby's cream cake, a sound of mahjong to a leaf falling from the plane trees, a hot bowl of wontons in a popular bar. Together, they form a love letter to the city I can never quite leave behind.

2024

FORMATS.Zine

Risograph-printed Zine/ Sprial Binding

2024 Spring

26 Pages

9 x 3.5 in

Formats.Zine is based on Format.mov which is a short film I made.

 

The story is about a creature who feels plain and wants to be noticed. He goes on a journey in an imaginary subway, where each stop represents computer formats that are metaphors for each identity. The story discusses whether you should rather be yourself or society's standard in the eyes of others.

 

And when I finished this movie, an idea came up, what if this character does not exist in the digital world. Not only limited to making art in digtial world, but looked for exciting things in the real world to make art, which can be patterns seen in nature, some illustrations from my archieve library, or some symbols in the programming world. Through these connections, I want to create unseen formats for this character.

Also, when you flip this book quickly, the character is walking!


A

Space

Inkjet Printing/ Saddle Stitch Binding

2024 Fall

12 Pages

8 x 6 in


c

I was invited to a special dinner by Air, a dinner party for creative directors and operators to share thoughts on AI.
 

This zine is shaped entirely by that night, the conversations I heard, the dishes I tasted, and some memorable quotes that floated around the table. Every quote in these pages comes straight from that evening's hot takes, and every food illustration is drawn from the actual menu.
 

It's a snapshot of that one night, ideas, laughter, and flavors, all capture in the zine. Space is commission by Air
 

2023

FORMAT

Risograph-printed Zine/ Saddle Stitch Binding

2023 Summer
12 Pages

8 x 5 in
2023

In computer systems, files come in various formats. I started imagining what it would be like if every creature had its own format. This got me thinking—could creatures be simplified into typography, pixel or even have an inner essence that does not match their appearance? And all my thoughts are in this zine.

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2022

Distance I, II, III

Risograph-printed Zine/ Folded

2022 Summer
8 Pages

5 x 3 in

There are many subtle details in life that we are hard to capture.

Just like we do not know how far away the cat is from his the most favorite toy, how far away the two people's heart who like each other are, how far away the innocent girl are from the summer cicadas. Combined with these random thoughts, I made a zine series about  DISTANCE.

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 © 2025  by Tianying Yu 

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