I Was Born, I Moved, I Commute (Editorial Design & Installation)
Year: 2024
Instructor: Bob Aufuldish
For my senior thesis class, we were all given a word to design any kind of project of any medium: ephemeral. This word inspired me to explore the ephemerality of memory. My thesis statement was:
Memory is ephemeral because recall distorts its details and visual image.
What remains unchanged of a memory is the general story. What distorts is the specific details of what happens. Every recall creates a new version of a memory that layer upon each other.
I navigated this process through the records of my own memories that exist in San Francisco, a city I grew up visiting, lived in for college, and then only experienced through a BART commute. I created a triptych installation of those phases of my life: 2001–2022, 2022–2024, and 2024–Present.
Throughout my hour long commute, I couldn’t help but recall the memories of my time at my college, California College of the Arts, and growing up visiting San Francisco, especially as I was graduating soon. But, the feelings were not fully nostalgic; there was an overwhelmingly feeling of regret and melancholy.
This part of my life was ending soon.
Those parts of my life, the little kid visiting the tree at Macy’s or the college student taking the bus to Haight St. to thrift after class, are gone. My relationship with San Francisco has distorted and changed throughout time like memory. For my thesis, I wanted to reflect on this. Throughout the books, I questioned: Do I remember this? What happened in this memory? Who was I with? What was I doing?
Why do I remember this?
The process, which includes research notes, material/book exploration, installation schematic/sketch, and printing errors.
The videos in the installation, playing recorded memories. The videos are superimposed with a photograph from the same moment, emphasizing the distortion of memory.
Three books of the three phases of my memories in San Francisco. I had to reflect deeply into my relationship with the city and be vulnerable in the process. This drove the tone of the books and the visual palette, from my choice of words to the lack of color.
Additionally, I enforced the distortion of time through the cropping and layering of photos and text with vellum paper. The books are binded with thread, making them as fragile as a memory.
“SF Market St.
December 6, 2015
I was shopping in San Francisco with my mom. As a kid, every year we went shopping in Market St. during Christmas time. We never celebrated Christmas, but I remember this holiday was still my favorite time to be in San Francisco.
I remember loving it at night. To see the big Christmas tree next to Macy’s, people ice skating, and everyone shopping for gifts was magical to me as a kid. (Still is).”
“SF CCA
Final Critique
December 13, 2022
It was the final critique for Typography 1 and Graphic Design 1. I remember getting a harsh critique from my Typography 1 professor. She said ‘my craft was bad’.
I remember being embarrassed. That comment has stuck with me since. I recall it every time I make anything. I recalled it making the book you are holding.”
In the third book, repetition of copy text and the muddled layering of images is used to echo the repetition of my memories.
“SF Commute
October 24, 2024
I commuted to class in SF. I took the same BART train. I took the same bus. I don’t remember anything different.”
The storytelling is through the physical experience.
The installation is on a small scale to create an intimate experience with the reader and the books/videos, giving them the space to reflect on their own memories and how they connect to the people in their lives or the cities they’ve lived in.
The project was carefully planned, measured, and installed, placing the books at hand level with the videos at eye level. The pillars were installed equidistantly, furthering its idea as a triptych.
The project was showcased at California College of the Arts’ Fall 2024 Design Senior Thesis Show, open to students, faculty, and the general public.