WHITE
W hat i s
WHITE
Wh at i s
“ W H I T E ” E X I STS IN OUR OWN PERSPECTIVE AND MIND; THEREFORE , YO U C A N N O T G I V E I T A C E R TA I N DEFINITION BY SEARCHING THE MEANING OF
WHITE OR USING OT H E R S’ I N T E R P R E TAT I O N S . W E N E E D TO F E E L T H E “WHITE”BY OURS E LV E S W H I C H WILL BE DIFFERENT FROM THE “WHITE” W E N O R M A L LY EXPERIENCE.
WH I TE seems the simplest and the weakest “thing” in our life. We always see lots of “white” surround us. Almost no one really cares what is white about. I feel quite curious about what can “white” be. Does it really equal nothing? Is it that simple as we see? I will record different “whites” in my life and give them different interpretations. I will explore what is “white” about in this book.
W h ite is HERE
08
WA R M
10
L OV E
12
TIME
14
R E P L AC I N G
16
CONTRAST
20
D I RT Y
22
LEISURE
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U N K N OW N
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What is White?
TIME 0 4 / 1 7/ 2 0 1 8 08:35 PM
W h ite i s H E R E
L O C AT I O N
WH I TE is about the white space in typography design. It
A AU Graphic Design Building
exists in the whole book and you will see it in every page.
79 New Montgomer y Street Room 520
It gives readers opportunities to take a breath when they are reading the book. It also fits the concept of my book.
W H IT E SPAC E / 08
White is HERE.
This is a classroom where I’ve taken classes for four semesters. Almost every semester I have one class in this classroom. I still remember that I had my first type class in this room. Now I’m taking my last type class. Time passed so fast. I’m sitting in this classroom that I’m very familiar with and thinking about my last project for my last type class. What is white about? This is a white classroom—white wall, whiteboard, white table and white blinds. What kind of stories can I make for them? Actually, I have no idea at that moment. Then I look at those spreads I designed, and I find WHITE is in these spreads. It’s White Space—the most basic but very important element—in typography design. Every instructor of type class mentioned this term in class.
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What is White?
TIME 0 4/2 1 /2 01 8 01:37 PM
L O C AT I O N The Backyard of My House 37 Stanley St
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W h i t e i s WA R M .
Wh i te i s W A R M
I moved to a house this semester. It is not a big and fancy house, but I still love it even if I just moved here for about two months. I have eight lovely roommates. We get along very well and I always feel like we’re a family. One of my favorite things is to sit in the backyard and enjoy warm sunshine in the afternoon. After lunch, I wear my nightgown sitting in the backyard. The sunlight is very intense today, so I feel it will better to close my eyes. I can feel the light, the temperature and the breeze. I begin to recall the time that I planted little fruits trees and dug potatoes with my roommates. We did homework together and chatted together. I open my eyes and a beam of light come in. I feel it’s white.
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What is White?
TIME 0 4/2 2/2 01 8 07: 0 6 P M
W h ite i s L O V E
L O C AT I O N
WH I TE symbolizes the purity of the soul and the most sin-
Loveliness We d d i n g G a l l e r i a
cere love between each other without any impurities. It also
5133 Gear y Blvd
represents the bright future. Two people in love can spend the rest of their life together.
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W h i t e i s L OV E .
I happen to pass by this wedding dress store after I had dinner with my friends. This is a very small store and it doesn’t open. There are several wedding dress set in the store, they seems not very expensive and gorgeous but still very beautiful to me. I stood in front of the window for a while. The wedding dress and suit make me recall the wedding of my best friend. She got married last year and she gave birth to her pretty boy a few days ago. I can’t help sighing that time flies so fast. I still remember the every moment on her wedding. I can feel her happiness in her smile. I’m so glad that she can find a person who really loves her and is willing to take care of her all her life. I also yearn for love and happiness and I hope I can see how I look on my wedding dress one day. This is my dream when I was a little girl.
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What is White?
TIME 0 4/2 3 /2 01 8 05:57 PM
W h ite i s T I M E
L O C AT I O N
WH I TE records the time we go through. Who once came into
P i z ze r i a D e l f i n a 2406 California St
our lives and then left? Who has always been there with us till we all get old? White makes us recall and leaves us the traces of the years.
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White is TI ME.
This is my first time to come to this Italian restaurant with my friend Ash. They serve fresh and handmade food in a warm casual atmosphere. The whole restaurant is very clean and organic. Waitress is really nice and she introduced the menu for us because the menu is too hard to understand. When I ate the pizza, an old couple sit at the table besides us. By the way, the pizza is pretty good. They’re nicely dressed and very polite. They stare at each other and chat with a smile. They order a bottle of wine and seems like they are celebrating something. They still look very sweet, just like their first date. I look at their grey hair, even all white hair and wonder how long they have been together. I admire them and hope one day there will be such a person always staying with me through the years.
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What is White?
TIME 0 4/24/2 01 8 04:38 PM
W h ite i s R E P L A C I N G
I take the muni.
muni
to school and this is the place I wait for the
At the corner of two streets, there is a very old and sha-
bby house. When my roommate and I wait for the
muni,
we
usually will observe and talk about it because we’re very curious L O C AT I O N Broad St & O r i z a b a Av e
about the stories behind this house. This is a very old house and it seems that no one has lived in here for a long time. Most of the paint on the walls has fallen off. I can hardly tell what color the house was originally. Some parts of the stair are broken. Windows are covered with dust but I still can see there is a sheet of paper that says “ r e n t ”. Obviously, no one rented this house. However, what surprised us is that this house has been rented or bought by someone recently. The house has been painted roughly and some workers are busy carrying materials and the. Sometimes, lots of things happen so suddenly. The past stories of this house will be forgotten gradually, while a new story begins…
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W h i te i s R E P L AC I N G.
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What is White?
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W h i te i s R E P L AC I N G.
WH I TE can cover the past and represent a new start. Under that white coat, there is a lot of stories behind that we may never know. Even if we know, how many people will remember after things put on that white coat? They still will be forgotten eventually because people always want to read new stories.
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What is White?
TIME 0 4/2 6/2 01 8 08 :1 8 P M
W h ite i s C O N T R A S T
This is a very big warehouse and it’s pretty cool to hold the Fashion Show here. There is a super long T stage in the warehouse which is quite different from what I saw before. Lots of people who dress very gorgeously gather here, and it seems L O C AT I O N A AU Wa re h o u s e 2 2 2 5 J e r r o l d Av e
everyone is excited about the start of the show. Strong beating music pulses, then all the lights turn off. As the models walk onto the stage, those white spotlights are turned on one by one. In the dark, these lights are a little bit too harsh but they do capture everyone’s attention. Their eyes keep moving with the movement of the models. At this moment, I feel the white light is the most powerful and important thing in the whole space because we cannot see anything without it. It helps us see the models and their clothing clearly. It creates the focal point in the space and I can feel the strength of white due to a sharp contrast between black and white.
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W h i t e i s C O N T R A S T.
People usually think WH I TE represent weakness. It seems insignificant in the color palette. However, without white, we cannot feel how colorful and strong the other things are. White always plays a silent role in our lives, which makes people ignore its strength. But it doesn’t mean white is weak.
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What is White?
TIME 0 4/2 9/2 01 8 01:02 AM
W h ite i s D I RT Y
L O C AT I O N
When you are used to looking at one thing from one certain
My Room 37 Stanley St
angle, you will never find its problems. As many people think, they will never relate “W H I T E” with “D I RT”.
D O YO U T H I N K IT’S TRASH?
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W h i t e i s D I RT Y.
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What is White?
TIME 0 4/2 9/2 01 8 03:27 PM
L O C AT I O N Bus Station Guttenberg St & Mission Street
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W h i t e i s D I RT Y.
When I walk on the streets, I see lots of trash and black chewing gums stick on the streets. And the streets smell like a lot of “things”. But it seems everyone just wants to get out of this place as soon as possible. Lots of people only want to keep themselves comfortable in their own bubble. They clean up their houses and cars, but they throw their trash on the street. They don’t care about the planet they live and the other people who also live on the same planet.
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What is White?
TIME 0 4/3 0/2 01 8 01:35 PM
W h ite i s L E I S U R E
WH I TE is relaxing and peaceful. It makes us get away from the numerous trifles in our lives. Sometimes, our lives do need this kind of medicine to slow down our lives and let us take a break.
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White is LEISURE.
I love coffee, and I drink coffee almost every day. Here is “little Italy” in San Francisco. There are a lot of Cafe, Italian restaurants and ice-cream stores. Many people sit outside of restaurants and enjoy their afternoon. This semester is a little bit different from the last three semesters. It’s getting close to the end of the semester, but there’s not so much work to do. I have some time to hang out with my friend. I ordered a cup of coffee and sit outside of the Cafe. I can get some fresh air, look at people and cars come and go, and taste my coffee slowly. Usually, I just grab a cup of coffee from Starbucks and then go to the class. I never have this chance to sit and enjoy it. Drinking coffee is not about leisure, it is more like a task because I need it to help me wake up and do my work. But at this moment, it’s different and I feel very comfortable.
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What is White?
TIME 0 5 /0 1 / 2 0 1 8 04:35 PM
L O C AT I O N
Since I took this class, I’ve been in this classroom every week.
AAU Industry Design Building
To be honest, this is my first time to look at this room care-
1 8 4 9 Wa s h i n g to n Street Room 490
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fully. There is no particular reason, I just don’t know what to do during a short break.
White is UNKNOWN.
Wh i te i s U N K N O W N
This classroom is different from those classrooms in the Graphic Design building. This one is much smaller, but chairs are more comfortable. That’s why I often fall asleep when my teacher plays the video. But what attracts me most is that three wall of this room are covered with white critique boards. They seem like blending in the wall, so I even cannot notice them before I see those tiny and dense holes left by pushpins. These boards are still white and clean, but they have stories behind which makes me curious:
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What is White?
TIME 0 5 /0 1 / 2 0 1 8 04:35 PM
L O C AT I O N AAU Industry Design Building 1 8 4 9 Wa s h i n g to n Street Room 490
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H OW M A N Y ST U D E N TS CRITIQUED HERE? IS THEIR WORK GOOD OR BAD? W H AT D I D T H E I R I N S T R U C T O R S S AY ? WHICH CLASSES DID T H E Y TA K E ? HOW DID THEY CRITIQ U E OT H E R S’ WO R K? H OW LO N G H AS T H ES E B OA R D S B E E N U S E D ? W H I C H C O M PA N Y P R O DUCED THEM? WHO ASSEMBLED?
White is UNKNOWN.
WH I TE is full of any possibility. We cannot imagine what happened to it before and we also cannot imagine what will happen to it in the future. It could be anything. Sometimes, this simplest “thing� is just simple and pure, just like what it looks like. Sometimes, it will be far more complicated than we think. Any of us can give it different meanings or interpretations.
The stories of WH I TE is still continuing, you explore‌
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What is White?
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W h at i s W H I T E ?
White is
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What is White?
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W h at i s W H I T E ?
White is
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What is White?
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W h at i s W H I T E ?
White is
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B o o k d e s i g n e d by M e n g y i S h ao E - m a i l : m e n g y i s 2 1 6 @ g m a i l .c o m P r i n t a n d b i n d by M e n g y i S h ao i n S p r i n g 2 01 8 Pa p e r : M OA B E n t ra d a R ag B r i g ht 1 9 0 g s m Double-Sided P r i n te r : E p s o n A r t i s a n 1 4 3 0 Ty p e fa c e : N e u e H a a s G rote s k N e u e H a a s G rote s k i s a s a n s - s e r i f t y p e fac e d e s i g n e d by M a x M i e d i n g e r. I t wa s o r i g i n a l l y re l e a s e d a s N e u e H a a s G rote s k by H a a s’s c h e S c h r i f tg i e s s e re i by M o n ot y p e I m ag i n g i n t h e l ate 1 9 5 0 s . Ty p e fa c e : B a s ke r v i l l e B a s ke r v i l l e i s a s e r i f t y p e fac e d e s i g n e d by J o h n B as ke r v i l l e . I t wa s o r i g i n a l l y re l e a s e d i n t h e 1 75 0 s . © 2 01 8 M e n g y i S h a o A l l r i g h t re s e r ve d . N o p a r t of t h i s p u b l i c at i o n m ay b e re p ro d u c e d , sto re d i n a ret r i eva l syste m o r t ra n s m i tte d i n a n y fo r m o r by a n y m e a n s , e l e c t ro n i c , m e c h a n i c a l , p h oto c o py i n g , re c o rd i n g o r ot h e r w i s e , w i t h o u t p e r m i s s i o n of t h e c o py r i g h t h o l d e r.