Elemental Design: Unearthing Michigan's Geological Narrative was a one-semester-long miniature thesis that I completed as part of my final assignment for my BFA at Wayne State University. I chose the subject of Michigan Geology because I'm an avid rock hounder and outdoor enthusiast, and I wanted to explore what I could create when I combine two things that I love—Michigan and geology.
Flyers: These handouts for the exhibit contain the abstract information of my mini-thesis. They were printed on brown craft paper and cut by hand.
Practice book: This is an abstract book I made on the Michigan basin. As you peel back each layer, information on the back of the page indicates its age and the types of rocks it contains.
Postcards: These are 2 postcards that I illustrated and printed on cardstock. One is of Black Rocks, a unique geological formation in Presque Isle Park. The other is of a solemn tree atop a sandstone structure at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
Typeface: I sketched this typeface in Procreate and later designed it in Illustrator. This typeface was inspired by the Pictured Rocks coastal shoreline in Michigan’s upper peninsula. The jagged layers are meant to imitate the sandstone layers weathered by Lake Superior.
C0rkboard: This object was cut out of wood with a laser cutting machine. I then cut the shape of Michigan out of some corkboard and glued the corkboard down to the wooden base. Next, I covered it with a printed canvas of an illustration I made of Devonian-aged fossils (most common in MI). I decorated the corkboard with some pictures I’ve taken in my travels around the state.
Zines: Here are two zines I created about Michigan rocks and fossils. Each one is a pocket-size guide on the history of these geological wonders and where they can be found in the state. The binding was done on a sewing machine using a neutral color thread.
Process Book: This book cataloged the process of the creation of my mini-thesis. It includes all of the collateral I created, why I created it, and my thoughts along the way.
Our exhibition took place at Galerie Camille on Cass Avenue in Detroit. We were fully responsible for both setting up and tearing down our exhibit spaces. I began by taking precise measurements and creating multiple sketches before finalizing the layout of my space. Since most of my pieces were interactive, I intentionally positioned them at midriff to eye level for easy accessibility.
As additional collateral for the exhibit, I designed a 10-layer transparent poster that cataloged Michigan’s bedrock composition and detailed the ages of each layer. I also curated a display of rocks and fossils from my personal collection, accompanied by a labeled identification guide for each specimen.
