- Lies on a Budget
- SIPHO Performance
- UAL Creative Strategy 2022-2032
- Legally AI
- Mimisis
- Lasdun Extended Typography
- Pop Up Lookbook
- Run - The Game
- ‘Not I’ Title Sequence
For my dissertation, I chose to write in a play-like format. Naturally, my design research led me to theatre-related visuals, particularly the iconic Broadway Playbill booklets and posters. These materials provided the perfect bridge between my topic and the format I had chosen, allowing me to integrate my text in its entirety while leveraging a recognizable theatrical aesthetic.
Traditional Playbills serve as guides to a performance, outlining its structure rather than featuring the full script. However, given that my play was significantly shorter than a standard production, including the entire text made sense within my adaptation.
One of the key elements I noticed across various Playbills was their heavy use of advertisements. I’ve always been interested in creating surreal, outlandish fake ads, so I saw this as an exciting opportunity. Initially, I considered generating hyper-realistic ads using AI, but I found no meaningful connection between AI-generated content and my play’s themes. Instead, I explored a more traditional approach, mimicking the greyscale hand-drawn ads found in vintage Playbills. While visually fitting, this approach felt too derivative. Ultimately, I opted for a more playful, modernized take—designing ads as direct or indirect references to moments within the play itself.
I titled my play Mimesis, a philosophical term meaning imitation. Throughout the play, the characters grapple with the authenticity of their actions—are they genuine, or merely performances? I mirrored this theme in my design choices. The front and back covers appear to imitate each other stylistically, but the back cover is noticeably sparse. This reflects the unfolding narrative, where characters gradually disappear, leaving only the protagonist and the narrator.
Additionally, I incorporated a gradient motif throughout the booklet, symbolizing the nuances in the characters’ dialogue and the evolution of their perspectives. On a personal level, it also represents my own thought process while writing the play—I began with a rigid concept, but as I wrote, my ideas became more fluid and dynamic.
This project was an exploration of form, meaning, and theatricality, blending design with storytelling in a way that challenges traditional structures while staying true to the essence of performance.