Photography today is based more in editing and manipulation than in the physical capturing of the photo. The pervasiveness of photo editing is only going to increase; however, whether an edited photo remains true to the original photo, let alone the original scene, is left for the photographer to determine. Photographers attempt to create the "perfect" image and are willing to sacrifice the original photo in the process. The finished product becomes in many cases an entirely different photo from the original, to the extent that it is more a product of the editing software than the actual camera. My project takes the form of a photo-editing manual, viewable in both physical and digital format, and an exhibition of the final images. None of the images are so extreme that it is immediately clear that they have been manipulated; however, as they are all images of Scripps College, people who are familiar with the campus will be able to recognize that something is off. I see these images as products of editing software more than products of a camera. I have exaggerated commonly used editing techniques to draw attention to their excessive use in photography today. In the manual, the manipulation and changes suggested become gradually more extreme, so that if the reader does not a first question the instructions, he or she will be sure to by the end.

This body of work represents a celebration and pursuit of realizing an alternative language, one capable of expressing internal conflict through process and response to external typographic form and content.

I imagined a world where designing is projecting and where the entire design field is called projection. My research into what it means to be a projector culminates in a participatory creative project that embodies concepts of projection taken from a range of disparate subjects.

Hybridity is the result when visual form, color or tools interact. While not every combination of multiple elements result in success, I believe creativity, intuition and serendipity determines the successful hybridity. This is the documentation of my journey to develop a personal definition of successful hybridity in graphic design.

Photography conveys informative data, aesthetic value, and a conceptual message very much like graphic design. In the hands of the photographer, the viewfinder of a camera becomes an editing tool. Editing by point of view, use of color and cropping determines a great deal about the communication made by imagery. In my creative project, I will explore photography as a means to generate form, concept, and content. As a result of this exploration, I expect to find new ways of approaching graphic design problems. My goal is to develop themes that combine aspects of photography and graphic design. Themes could derive from broad issues like social statements, cultural phenomena, or mechanical effects, through the use of the capabilities of the camera, timing, lighting, or framing. Methods of editing photography such as, cropping, retouching, and splitting provide opportunities to experiment with making messages that rely on images alone. Another level of experimentation will be using typography in response to images.

“Robin D.G. Kelley coined the term polyculturalism as an alternative to multiculturalism, ‘since the latter often implies that cultures are fixed, discrete entities that exist side by side—a kind of zoological approach to culture.’ ” Polyculturalism assumes the whole world’s cultures are interactive and fluid instead of independent and static, and individuals’ relationship to cultures are complex and cannot be categorized. Yet an individual constitutes multiple cultures, and individual identity embraces the various forms of culture in all aspects of one’s life. My research examines how polyculturalism affects aspects of communications among people who hold a multiplicity of voices. It uses my personal experiences as the basis for work that expresses the effects of mistranslation and cultural mixing and seeks to communicate them to people of various cultural backgrounds.

Mark-making captures movement and preserves gesture. Marks can reveal the motion behind their creation and convey thoughts through non-verbal, non-literal means.

This intent of this project is to explore the importance of handmade objects in the age of information.

My search for creative inspiration often leads to explorations in natural and built environments. Being physically immersed in an environment offers endless vantage points, as well as points of focus; allowing all senses to function as receptors of surrounding data. Observations stimulate thoughts and ideas, which inspire experiments. Projects are born, sometimes out of the smallest details. In a series of projects I explore the possibilities of using physical environments as primary source of inspiration and input in the creation of tools that function in design contexts.

I'm arguing for an approach to generating graphic form based on slapstick. Slapstick is a genre of physical comedy involving humorous portrayals of clumsiness, mistakes, and nonsense. I investigate it as an approach to form, content, process, and communication. These methods were used to construct an immersive installation loosely based on The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Graphic design is expected to function. It does this by conditioning users to its particular patterns or by skillfully implementing familiar patterns. A slapstick approach to graphic design is valuable as a critical tool for disrupting conditioned experiences for promoting empathy by relating to people through imperfection and failure.