PROBLEM

When prompted the question about what I would like my thesis to be about at the beginning of the Spring 2022 semester, I knew I wanted to focus on something either related to photography or lettering. I tend to lean toward the "safe side", both in life and in design, and never go out of my way to venture too far out in the unknown, which is something I knew I needed to work on.

I was inspired by a video I remembered seeing years ago on Instagram where a person injected a green chili pepper with ink and created some really interesting lettering with it. I wondered what would prompt a person to take such a strange object and think, “I can use this to write something.”

I have always wanted to try injecting food with ink since watching this video, so using that to kindle my fire, I started running down an endless path of coming up with strange and interesting lettering approaches.

ADDRESSING THE PROBLEM

I initially explored how I could make some interesting hand-lettering pieces by using food items—fruits, sauces, powders, and so on—to create unique textures. However, as I ran out of fresh ideas and my designs began to look repetitive, I pushed myself to think beyond the obvious. This led me to explore unconventional materials such as rocks, flowers, nail polish, and my personal favorite—a 3D printer.

The goal was to challenge traditional approaches and incorporate unexpected objects that wouldn’t typically be associated with hand-lettering, resulting in truly innovative and one-of-a-kind designs.

RESEARCH & EXPLORATIONS

BOOK DESIGN

CLOSING REMARKS

I took the opportunity of focusing my senior thesis on hand-lettering and photography in order to rediscover how passionate I used to be about typography, art, and calligraphy when I was younger. I spent a large chunk of my undergrad being stressed and experiencing designer's block from constantly being pushed to create something bold and new for four years straight, so Brush Up! is a reminder to myself that there is fun and creativity to be found in the most unexpected places.

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