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Letter & Feature Introduction Hyojung Julia Seo
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Third floor Chelsea Hwang
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Second Floor Joanne Vongphachan Mina Moon Jinah Kim
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Basement Allen Sung M. Kang Nathan Grimberg
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In ‘n Out Campus Life Jasmine Rock
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Location, location, location. Brian Kall
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Shirley Space Shirley Liang
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Next Saddle
LET TER
A LETTER FROM SPACE I can confidently bet anyone that this comes up in every design course at YSDN. I’m pretty sure 95% of my first design course, Visual Language, focused on this particular ghostly being. I get it now that it’s what defines a form, a letter, an emotion. Yeap. It is negative space. W~oo~ O~h ~ .
~
. .
!
It’s the rhythm of short pauses in a tune that gives it a catchy melody. It’s the space that creates the beautiful silhouette of a dress. It’s what distinguishes the letter o from c and the u from n. It makes keeners stop to squint at the extra space between words orthe lackofit. It’s the first thing you can look for when critiquing a poster, a website, a typeface... But let’s step away from thinking about negative space in the realm of graphic design. Think about yourselves. What kind of negative space do you find yourselves living in? What kind of space does YSDN provide us to become who we aspire to be? How does this space define the kind of designers we are and aren’t? These are just some of the ghostly things to consider.
With galactic love,
Hyojung Julia Seo .
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FEATURE INTRODUCTION
LET’S SPACE JAM Get a better understanding of how space affects designers by the experiences shared by our featured students. Their experiences touch upon important factors such as the split campuses of YSDN, the accessible housing, and the overall commuting culture of York University. It’s a jam of the diverse space we share.
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IN THE VILLAGE
UN DER ONE ROOF What happens when you put 6 YSDN students under one roof for over one semester? Chelsea Hwang, Joanne Vongphachan, Mina Moon, Jinah Kim, Allen Sung M. Kang, and Nathan Grimberg live together in a house in the York U Village. Oh and I can’t forget to mention that they are all third year students. They share their thoughts on what it’s like to live with their friends in YSDN, and the things to watch out for. You can get a real sense of how well they get along by the banners they designed to represent each other.
CHELSEA HWANG What did you expect living with YSDN students would be like? Did it turn out different than you had expected? Living with 5 other YSDN students actually turned out to be just like what I had expected. Since every single one of them are a close friend of mine in YSDN, I knew that we would get along really well. We work together in our livng room and we all cuddle in my room to finish up our never ending projects until 3 or 4 am in the morning. We sometimes motivate each other but sometimes we just end up talking instead of finishing up our work! The only thing that I was worried about was that I might not have enough of my own personal time which I often need. Even though we work and spend a lot of time together, we always respect each other’s personal space.
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Design by Mina Moon
THIRD FLOOR
IN THE VILLAGE
JOANNE VONGPHACHAN What situation have you found yourself feeling glad that you live with housemates that are also in YSDN? It is nice not being late for class. Group projects are convenient. It’s more interesting when a house full of designers can share ideas and crits. I don’t feel guilty eating late night munchies. No one starves. We can all hear the latest YSDN news/what’s going on in other classes. Late night lab walks aren’t lonely and sketch. Everyone is encouraging and awesome.
MINA MOON What is one habit you know you developed from living with design students? Nothing out of the ordinary and particuarily specific to design. I would say sharing food, appliances, and expecting to do design work together. Sometimes we share ideas whether it’s related to design or not, and it’s become a habit to go to them first when I run into a problem.
JINAH KIM Any tips for anyone looking for YSDN housemates? Live with friends you don’t feel like killing after they eat your eggs without asking. And get a nice Korean landlady.
No sketchy landlords named Martin. 6
Design by Chelsea Hwang
Design by Nathan Grimberg
Design by Jinah Kim
SECOND FLOOR
IN THE VILLAGE
ALLEN SUNG M. KANG What will you will miss when the time comes to move out? When the time comes for me to move out of this house I think I’ll mostly miss the liveliness. Although I am the guy who stays in the basement practically 24/7 and never hangs out with most of the people in the house, I would say this is the only place I like out of my 3 years of study. I’m the type of person that chooses to do nothing at home, and not be bothered by anything. I’m the type of person that would rather stay in his room, and do nothing rather than hanging out as a group, not because I’m anti-social, but it’s just been the way I act at “home” since I had my first room all to myself. Because of that, or a different reason, maybe nothing at all even, people in this house mock me all the time for everything I do such as saying a word, walking around, saying hi, breathing air and such. I’ll kinda miss that too.
NATHAN GRIMBERG What are the pros and cons of having like minded friends around you in and out of campus? I’d say the best thing is always having something to talk about, but that's kinda the worst thing too. It’s a much different atmosphere than high-school where people worked on their own thing and you couldn't really share your passion with anyone else. Now everyone is working on (mostly) the same thing, and there’s a real unity of purpose in my group of friends. It’s nice to be around people who understand what you’re interested in almost all the time. Once in a while though I miss communicating with people who aren’t in the same field as me. Sometimes I think that the design community can be isolating, and I really think we benefit from a more multidisciplinary approach.
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Design by Allen Sung M. Kang
Design by Joanne Vongphachan
THE BASEMENT
IN ‘N OUT CAMPUS LIFE
JASMINE ROCK As a commuter, you travel a long distance to enter and exit the working spaces provided on campus. What are the benefits of the long distance and separation from the YSDN design environment? I live at home with my family in Brampton. My usual commute (one way) is a fifteen minute train ride from one GO station to another, and then another twenty minutes on a GO bus to York - or forty-five minutes to Sheridan. Brampton is a convenient mid-point between York and Sheridan so even though I’m kind of far away from campus, it doesn’t feel far. Commuting time is valuable sleeping time for me, so that makes Sheridan bus rides bearable. Living at home gives me access to my family, whether it’s for advice, encouragement or someone who stays up with me while I work late. At school we give each other feedback and encouragement, but we’re all busy, often working on the same projects to the same deadlines. The closest thing to that kind of support I’ve experienced on campus is one day late last semester, when Gary went around to all the labs handing out chocolate candies to encourage whoever was still working. That was thoughtful!! When the printers in the Labs are on the fritz or after the last print monitor goes home, my family have pulled all-nighters at the twenty-four-hour Fed Ex Office with me, or waited in the parking lot outside TEL when I have to work past the last GO bus from York. As commuter, I’ve gotten used to working in different spaces, carrying anything that I may need for the day, and packing up quickly. I have to work around transit and family schedules, for example, I’ve worked on the GO bus, in the car and in the local library while waiting for my Mom to get off a later train. When we first got into YSDN, they told us that we could just use the labs and that laptops were unnecessary. I found this is not feasible for a commuter unless you also plan to sleep in the labs or you live on res. When I’m on campus, I try to focus on work so I can relax for a bit at home. The way transit
works, it’s most convenient if I get here early, which gives me more time to get stuff done. I’ve often envied people who come down to the labs just to chill in the evenings. When I’m at York, especially if it’s late, I’m usually trying to work on something and I don’t have time to relax and socialize. I’ve often wondered what it’s like to sleep in the labs (I think the long ledge in lab one is perfect as long as you bring a sleeping bag) and used to think that perhaps York should have a rest room for sleepy students. All this means that I don’t see my friends and classmates all that much outside of class. Combine that with my shy personality and you have the biggest drawback to being a YSDN commuter. The map is a quick abstract picture of some of my feelings about being a commuter in YSDN. I think that York is YSDN’s hub. It’s the most convenient campus to get to, and people seem to prefer to learn and live there. Maybe that’s also why there’s more activity and more community there (ex. DSA). The York labs feel like a second home to me, despite that ‘home’ looking rather industrial. Sheridan has some great qualities, too (full disclosure, most of my classes have been there): the small campus size makes it a more comfortable place to navigate and the labs don’t have as much grey exposed concrete, either. A huge plus is the fact that it has a bookstore that carries actual art and design supplies. It’s almost isolated, however, and there is only one bus route connecting the campuses. I think this is why a community hasn’t really flourished and there isn’t much activity, so kudos to those who started the Sheridan Design Club. There are some pros and cons to separation from the YSDN design environment. However, we should be proud of ourselves and our work, whether we live on campus or commute.
feeling of community
route to Sheridan
how the space feels
transit options
activity levels
Jasmine’s commuting journey map
LEGEND route to York
BRIAN K ALL / SECOND YEAR
Location, location, location Spaces: campus and downtown
In August of 2014 I moved into the Annex (basically to Bloor and Spadina). A few you know this already because I’ve been quite vocal about how frigging awesome it is to live in this neighborhood (also: less expensive than residence). I moved from the Passy Crescent apartment buildings on York’s campus where I lived for all of first year and most of the summer following. My first and second years have therefore been influenced by the places I’ve lived and it’s given me perspective on the benefits of each location. One way or another, we’re in a commuter program. If you live at York, you commute to Sheridan and vice-versa. If you don’t live on either campus you’re spending a fair bit of time driving or taking
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public transportation (the chariot of the people) to and from school. When I moved off campus it resulted in quite the increase in distance from each of our educational institutions and also from the collective design conscious that we’re all a part of at each place. This has been a good thing though; I’ve now got two very different spaces I engage with regularly and each is going to be influential in my development as a designer. There are pros and cons to living downtown. When I’m not on campus, I miss you guys. It sounds crazy but there’s something I find both comforting and exciting about being in a place that’s filled with energy for the things I love and filled with people that love those things too. Being at home with my roommate is great, but let’s be clear: he doesn’t give a shit about kerning, color palettes or types of paper I think feel nice. As students we need each other to validate those things (I do, anyway) and school can’t be beat for that. There’s a relatability that will always be there. On the flip side, both North York and Oakville are a relatively short trip to the bustling, energetic, urban center of design and connection that is Toronto. Being out on major downtown routes is a constant sensory buffet, for none more so than
the visual. In addition to there being people of all walks, there are countless shops, cafes, restaurants and bars, all with unique visual elements. It’s impossible to walk down Bloor and be bored, especially if you’re into design the way we are. This is where design is being done and put to use in concentrations and variations that can’t be found in the areas surrounding our schools. Having lived both on campus and now closer to downtown, I think that an important part of our design education and growth as designers is a balance between being in these different spaces. Our collective energy is essential for keeping up with the fast pace of this program and getting out into a beautiful and visually unpredictable city such as Toronto can do wonders to refresh that energy. Work in the labs but also get out, take a long, crowded bus ride and engage with people and the city. You only need to have been through one semester in YSDN to get a feel for how quickly this program is going to go by. It’s important to remember to take in everything that’s around you while you're here.
You can crash at my place if you need to.
Shirley Space
By Shirley Liang, 3rd year
NEXT SADDLE
THE NEXT ISSUE IS GOING TO BE
REALLY CUUTE. Remember when you were in your first year? It was the time when you first experienced being in a room full of people nostalgic over the same things, and a place to feel good knowing that 80% of the class is just as fresh and clueless as you. In the next issue of the YSDN Saddle, there will be a mingle of first year and fourth year students sharing their interesting experiences, expectations, and hopes for the future. Well, it will mainly be fourth year students calming the first years down and answering their questions with, “everything will be fine...
just don’t sleep.”
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