This is a zine themed around "the future", titled "Shadow Metropolis", which tells a story set in a world similar to that of "cyberpunk".
Shadow Metropolis. Image: The physical photos of my small publication and the original pictures designed with InDesign.
This is the design work carried out in the Week 5 seminar. Firstly, I have created a mind map and simple collage according to the requirements on Miro Board. As per the classroom requirements, I need to create my own world based on the keywords mentioned above. Based on this, I have a rough idea for the design of the story and worldview: this is a dystopian city located in the future, which is essentially a chaotic, dirty, and dangerous place. It has a sense of technology and also has rules that must not be violated. There are some uniquely dressed, traditional people trying to uncover the truth of the city, they seem to be special hats. Not only that, I have analyzed many Zine works, which has also given me more design directions.
After that, I have made simple sketches for the design of each part of the zine, and then used the Al generation function in Photoshop to generate some images for collage based on these sketches. And Then I wrote a simple story, which was a small story that I thought and created based on the keywords mentioned earlier. It was also a rough idea of the story content that I had sketched earlier.
Finally, I completed my work, which enabled me to understand the special way of designing Zines and also helped me to further consolidate the "collage" method. I really enjoyed the experience of designing Zines.
Here is my "Shadow Metropolis" story. This is the story content I wrote before designing the Zine to be included in it.
Shadow Metropolis
In a distant future, a colossal city known as "Shadow Metropolis" looms over a world of steel and neon. The sky is perpetually shrouded in thick clouds, and sunlight has never truly touched the ground. The air is thick with the stench of decay, while the streets are littered with garbage and graffiti. Between the towering buildings, floating billboards flicker with unsettling messages, and drones patrol the dark sky, watching every corner.
The city's rules are absolute and merciless. Every citizen is required to wear a government-issued "visual filter"—a smart device that alters what people see. The government claims it protects citizens from visual pollution, filtering out unnecessary distractions and making the city appear cleaner and more orderly. However, few realize its true purpose: to obscure the truth of the world.
Yet, not everyone is willing to accept this reality. A mysterious group of individuals, clad in traditional and peculiar attire, roam the city wearing strange hats. These hats are called the "Hats of Truth", and they have the power to block the control of the visual filters, allowing wearers to see the city as it truly is.
These people are known as the Seekers. Moving through the shadows, they search for hidden secrets, knowing that the city’s order is nothing but an illusion. Crumbling buildings, erased symbols, vanished streets—these are the things the government does not want people to see.
One night, a young Seeker named Kahn sneaked into the city's control center. He knew that the most crucial data was stored here, and if he could hack into the government’s core system, he could reveal the truth to everyone. But just as he was about to succeed, alarms blared, and city enforcers swarmed in like a tidal wave.
"You can never hide the truth forever!" Kahn tightened his hat, vanished into the night, and disappeared into the ruins of the city.
No one knew his fate, but after that night, more and more people began searching for the mysterious hats, hoping to see the world with their own eyes.
—— One day, the truth will be seen.
Footer Text 2025