“It’s Not That Bad” is a playfully utilitarian zine. The goal of the publication is to re-imagine the Light Rail and eliminate the inherent fears of the space that are spawned from the ideals of racism and privilege. Presenting both the positive and negative attributes of the Light Rail, the zine acts as a straight-forward informational review of the space, prompting new riders to put aside their ingrained fears and utilize the Light Rail–and other forms of public transit that have similar connotations attached to them–as well. The zine is both inviting and confrontational, informational and abstract in the way that it presents information and insights to the reader.

I was inspired by both the playful qualities of vintage post cards, as I wanted to highlight the fun, travel aspects of the train, as well as the extremely utilitatarin typographic style on the tickets. I wanted to present both and merge the mundane qualities of the train with a idealized travel setting. I also found myself going back to the idea of the seats on the train and how they are both bright and fun and a bit ugly. As it turns out, they’re made to be both fun and durable, so much like my zine, the seats on the train serve a dual purpose.

The zine is wrapped with screencaps of reviews of the Light Rail. The starting ones are all negative while the concluding ones are positive. The reader is meant to go through a transitional journey while they read. Readers can keep their Light Rail ticket in the spot at the end of the book, which is adjacent to a reminder that the train itself is safe so long as we learn to put aside our inherent fears that we attach to the space.

I distributed the zines to various stops along the trains line. The holders directly call to the attention of first time riders and are strategically placed next to the ticket dispenser to create optimum visual presence.