(In)visible Waste is a year-long project composed of a series of research, designs, and explorations on the topic of waste and trash. It uses New York as a case study (due to its highly visible trash on the streets) to raise questions and call for participation from all over the world, with the goal of making this world a little cleaner. The literal trash bags and the social issues associated with it are right under our noses, but a lot of us are so used to it, or too lazy/scared/confused/uninformed that the immense amount of waste/trash in this world has become somewhat invisible to us. It is to express this irony and juxtaposition that I named this project (In)visible Waste.
Throughout the year, I have taken hundreds of photographs and recordings of waste/trash across New York City. I have talked to friends, family, and experts in associated fields. I have visited waste-related sites such as Fresh Kills, formerly the biggest landfill in the world, to experience for myself the historic aspects of this topic. I have created speculative designs and visual representations to make this issue come to light. All of the above are stored in a worldly-community-based online hub under the same project name at:
March Issue:
Interview with a waste expert
(In)visible Waste was also displayed at the annual Pratt Show (in-person, opened to the general public) for a week at Pratt Institute's Brooklyn Campus. I took this opportunity to transform my 2D panel into an interactive exhibit space, continuing the theme of the online hub - calling for participation from all over the world.
Read the photo book that compiles some of the waste photos taken by myself & shared by friends
Speculative Design
Brand name: The Smell of Your Street
Brand type: cosmetics, scented products
Brand concept: If the everyday scented products we use (perfumes, lotion, handwash, etc.) smell like the streets we live on, what would that smell like? Would it be a pleasant scent? How can the scent creators go about to actually collect those scents?
Selected Works
Café le soirReimagining Urban Space | Branding
39° SensitivoDesign for People | A Self-Care App
aetheriaFeel-Good Perfume Brand
W. W. Norton & CompanyDesign in Book Publishing
American Montessori SocietyDesign in Non-Profit & Education
Turning my Favorite Shows into Book CoversFor Funsies
Business Outreach Center Network (BOCNET)Design for Underserved Communities
Glass, A Little Bit of EverythingA Book for Museum Gift Shop
(In)visible WasteA Case Study on the Issue of Waste/Trash