Set in the West
Thesis Research, Public Art Installation, Book Publication
Set in the West offers a contemporary framework for interpreting beauty in Western graphic design through the analysis of American art history, commercial printing traditions and material culture. By revisiting artifact and analog processes, this research questions what has been lost within current visual culture and what should be recovered.
This work is a an ever-evolving design methodology. That reasserts how graphic design is a cultural force, capable of shaping identity, preserving memory, and influencing how individuals experience both their physical environments and emotional landscapes. As algorithm-driven aesthetics continue to shape visual culture, efficiency replaces author-ship, nuance, and emotional resonance. In response, graphic designers carry a responsibility to preserve the qualities of design that remain distinctly human.
AESTHETIC RESEARCH
This research explores beauty through pragmatism, nostalgia, and romanticism. By studying texts on Aesthetic Theory, craftsmanship, and nostalgia, I understand how beauty is shaped through emotional resonance and practical engagement with materials. Nostalgia informs a sense of familiarity and attachment, while pragmatism grounds my approach in use, process, and function. Romanticism introduces a sensitivity to expression and atmosphere. These perspectives frame my interest in beauty as something constructed through feeling, utility, and making.
ARCHIVAL RESEARCH
Archival research from American fine art and commercial art is the visual foundation of this research. By studying the Colby Poster Printing Company and the Huntington Library’s Jay T. Last Collection I investigate the aesthetics of early mass communication, including typography, color strategies, and print techniques. This work reveals how commercial imagery shaped public perception and everyday aesthetics, and informed my interest in graphic clarity, reproduction, and the intersection of the fine art and design industry.
Set in the West’s book is a collection of artifacts, bringing together research, design references, and production into a tactile package. Constructed with engraved wood, canvas, denim, and newsprint, each material reflects a distinct facet of American design aesthetics. The book is an object that embodies the values explored throughout my thesis and expresses a layered understanding of beauty rooted in the textures, histories, and craft traditions of American visual culture.
“Artists and designers always draw from what came before them. They are influenced by the world around them, both past and present... In reality, no design is created in isolation. Everything draws from some earlier influence.”
-David H. Milhaly, Curator of the Jay T. Last Collection
