graphic design
Out of Mind | multimedia design (2023)
My undergraduate senior thesis project explored worldbuilding through textile, print, and product design. Popular culture is inundated with narratives wherein a hostile extraterrestrial force makes contact with an English-speaking Western country, where our team of Sigourney Weavers and Tom Cruises must save Earth from certain doom. Instead, Out of Mind introduces a alien civilization motivated by reciprocity, the pursuit of knowledge, and the advancement of the Black Diaspora.
Using vision boards and maps, I outlined the inspirations and origins of graphic, knit, and product design. The result was an extraterrestrial care package containing a product catalogue, a phrasebook with a cyanotype cover, a hand-knit garment, and product packaging for sunscreen.
Despite the diversification that naturally occurs when people are separated across continents, the African Diaspora is filled with universal cultural truths, stories, and cuisines that transcend borders. Our cultures and practices are predicated on mutualism, honoring traditions, embracing the lessons and gifts Mother Earth provides, and above all, redefining our relationships with the world on our own terms.
The featured care package products are not available for purchase in the modern sense. In line with the trading histories of pre-colonial Africa, they can be exchanged for earthly goods. Afrofuturist icons, like the Zambian Afronauts of the 1960s, inspired my vision of not only benevolent intergalactic communication, but an intentional, vested interest in an often overlooked collective. All the items in the care package cater to Black skincare, hair care, and language systems.
Through the lens of Afrofuturism, I sought to convey a piece of what makes us, us.
The Star Children phrasebook offers insight into their customs and values. The featured poem, phrases, and grammatical rules are inspired by African language systems.
The motif of light appears throughout Out of Mind. Geographically and spiritually, Black people have long associated power and beauty with the Sun. The branded sunscreen goes hand-in-hand with the knit garment, providing humans with the protection needed to maintain contact with the Star Children.
