Graduate Thesis
‘blackbox’ is a campaign to develop a shared understanding of the intersectionality of inequity. This will be accomplished via a visual campaign & book that twists the concept of branding on its head and hands the reigns back to the end user.
overview
The aim of this thesis project is to combine both scholarly, academic research and economic analysis with real, true-to-life stories of those currently experiencing this inequity, whether it be plainly economic, distinctly social, or somewhere in between. Then, connect these problems to the world of design, shedding light onto a cultural paradigm that has existed for far too long through a combined approach of experience, research, and analysis.
Ultimately, this project resulted in a gallery experience along with a book of crowd-sourced experiences and stories of struggle and financial inequity.
The 4 categories
These symbols will be used throughout the project to denote/highlight the different sections. The personal stories have been categorized to fit (loosely) into each one of these categories. Further definitions of each state will be discussed in detail at the beginning of each chapter.
Flexible branding system
The crowd-sourced nature of the project meant that I required a flexible branding system. Not only is this a campaign for awareness of inequity, it’s a challenge to traditional branding. Brands are nothing without participants, so it’s time that we have a brand that actually works that way.
Call to action
The gallery exhibition called visitors to create their own blackboxes and add their own stories to the project.
