Atlas

“How can living languages be captured in a fixed form?”

—Duration: 1 month
—Scope: Publication Design, Book Binding
—Tools: Indesign, Photoshop, lots of crafting

Atlas is an ever-growing series of riso-printed books, mapping the living edges of language: slangs, inside jokes, and internet-born phrases.

The series was inspired by traditional glossaries, which often prioritize density, compressing language into static forms that can’t keep pace with how languages evolve. Atlas was created to push back that notion by pairing each slang with collaged imagery that interprets words at their most literal and absurd form.

Each volume is hand-sewn using Japanese stab binding and embedded with magnets, allowing the series to physically connect and evolve.

Process

Initial Ideas

Atlas began as a single book, in response to a prompt: make a book about code. Instead of approaching code as syntax, the project expored slangs as coded messages. These expressions rarely describe meanings directly, but operate through distortion and shared context.

To explore this, each phrase was translated into its more literal and absurd visual form through collages. Existing stock photos were cut and reassembled to make strange but interesting imagery.

Design & Prototype

Japanese stab binding was chosen to conceal content between layers. Risograph introduced texture, misregistration, and saturated colors, reinforcing the playfulness of imagery. The staircase structure was created as a spatial metaphor for layers of language.

With this binding structure, each page brings a layered reading experience: the literal interpretation appears first, followed by its literal visual, then the actual meaning is tucked deep within the page. The publication intentionally avoids a grid system. Instead of imposing order, elements are allowed to float on the page to reflect the unstructured nature of contemporary language.

Expansion

Realizing that slangs are culturally specific and collectively authored, I decided to open the project to more languages. Each volume represents a different linguistic context, using a single riso spot color as a coding system. While typography remains consistent across the series, color becomes the signifier for each language.

To signal Atlas as a whole, ever-growing object, magnets were embedded within the covers to allow each book to physically connect. When stacked, the volumes align into a large object, transforming the series into a modular archive of evolving language. Rather than a fixed publication, Atlas becomes a system that can continue to grow, adapt, and accumulate new voices over time.

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Superficial

“What do we make out of the surface level?”

—Duration: 2 months
‍—Scope: Exhibition Design, Identity System
‍—Tools: Figma, Indesign, and lots of fabrication
—Collaborators: Public Noodle (Andrea Manrique, Grace Cao, Julie Du)

Superficial is an exhibition identity design created for CCA's Spring 2025 senior show. Responding to the theme Superficial, the exhibition centered on the idea of searching for meaning among surface-level fragments.

Through mass-produced materials, fragmented type, and pixelated imagery, the identity embraces a disposable aesthetic that reflects the fractured way we encounter information. Each element offers only a partial view—inviting the audience to step back, piece things together, and question what lies beneath the surface.

Process

Conceptual Stage

We initially explored 3 primary directions—

1. Surface as visual texture
Design was centered around spray-painting on fabric, inviting the audience to look only at the texture of the surface.

2. Searching for meanings among the superficial
A gigantic word puzzles, inviting the audience to stay engaged and look closely for meaningful pieces.

3. Superficiality as abstraction
Focusing on the abstraction of facial features, questioning whether looking closer at the surface make things clearer or more complex?

Expansion Stage

Each of our initial ideas had a flaw, but we moved on with the 2nd direction. We envisioned a title wall of stacked newsprints forming the word Superficial, each holds a designer’s name and word puzzle.

However, due to time constraints, it became too complicated to create multiple versions of puzzles. Instead, we embraced the idea of multiples: cheap, riso-printed sheets that could be taken, discarded, or pieced together—fragments that only made sense as a whole.

Assembly Stage

This phase was the time to work on other applications of the exhibition, while making sure everything ties back to the original concept. We then expanded the identity design in the following ways:

1. Abstraction
We revived the pixelated eyes idea, incorporating participants’ eyes and thesis keywords hidden among the stacks of the Superficial wall.

2. Exhibitors' Names
Participant names were applied as white vinyl italics directly on the floor in front of the wall—subtle enough that people might step over them without noticing.

3. Name Tags
Name tags were riso-printed on smaller newsprint sheets, stacked and hung beside each person’s work.

4. Social Media
We scanned actual prints from the wall and overlaid information in the same style and scale as the participant names, mirroring the physical installation.

Assembly Stage

The most chaotic and exciting part of our process was this. Words cannot describe this so here's a time-lapse compilation :-)

@2026 Lucie Tran
•
Superficial
“What do we make out of the surface level?”

—Duration: 2 months
—Scope: Exhibition Design, Identity System
—Tools: Figma, Indesign, and lots of fabrication
—Collaborators: Public Noodle (Andrea Manrique, Grace Cao, Julie Du)

Superficial is an exhibition identity design created for CCA's Spring 2025 senior show. Responding to the theme Superficial, the exhibition centered on the idea of searching for meaning among surface-level fragments.

Through mass-produced materials, fragmented typography, and pixelated imagery, the identity embraces a disposable aesthetic that reflects the fractured way we encounter information. Each design element offers only a partial view—inviting the audience to step back, piece things together, and question what lies beneath the surface.

Process
Conceptual Stage

We initially explored 3 primary directions—

1. Surface as visual texture
Design was centered around spray-painting on fabric, inviting the audience to look only at the texture of the surface.

2. Searching for meanings among the superficial
A gigantic word puzzles, inviting the audience to stay engaged and look closely for meaningful pieces.

3. Superficiality as abstraction
Focusing on the abstraction of facial features, questioning whether looking closer at the surface make things clearer or more complex?

Expansion Stage

Each of our initial ideas had a flaw, but we moved on with the 2nd direction. We envisioned a title wall of stacked newsprints forming the word Superficial, each holds a designer’s name and word puzzle.

However, due to time constraints, it became too complicated to create multiple versions of puzzles. Instead, we embraced the idea of multiples: cheap, riso-printed sheets that could be taken, discarded, or pieced together—fragments that only made sense as a whole.

Assembly Stage

This phase was the time to work on other applications of the exhibition, while making sure everything ties back to the original concept. We then expanded the identity design in the following ways:

1. Abstraction
We revived the pixelated eyes idea, incorporating participants’ eyes and thesis keywords hidden among the stacks of the Superficial wall.

2. Exhibitors' Names
Participant names were applied as white vinyl italics directly on the floor in front of the wall—subtle enough that people might step over them without noticing.

3. Name Tags
Name tags were riso-printed on smaller newsprint sheets, stacked and hung beside each person’s work.

4. Social Media
We scanned actual prints from the wall and overlaid information in the same style and scale as the participant names, mirroring the physical installation.

Installation Stage

The most chaotic and exciting part of our process was this. Words cannot describe this so here's a time-lapse compilation :-)

@2026 Lucie Tran
•
Superficial
“What do we make out of the surface level?”

—Duration: 2 months
—Scope: Exhibition Design, Identity System
—Tools: Figma, Indesign, and lots of fabrication
—Collaborators: Public Noodle (Andrea Manrique, Grace Cao, Julie Du)

Superficial is an exhibition identity design created for CCA's Spring 2025 senior show. Responding to the theme Superficial, the exhibition centered on the idea of searching for meaning among surface-level fragments.

Through mass-produced materials, fragmented typography, and pixelated imagery, the identity embraces a disposable aesthetic that reflects the fractured way we encounter information. Each design element offers only a partial view—inviting the audience to step back, piece things together, and question what lies beneath the surface.

Process
Conceptual Stage

We initially explored 3 primary directions—

1. Surface as visual texture
Design was centered around spray-painting on fabric, inviting the audience to look only at the texture of the surface.

2. Searching for meanings among the superficial
A gigantic word puzzles, inviting the audience to stay engaged and look closely for meaningful pieces.

3. Superficiality as abstraction
Focusing on the abstraction of facial features, questioning whether looking closer at the surface make things clearer or more complex?

Expansion Stage

Each of our initial ideas had a flaw, but we moved on with the 2nd direction. We envisioned a title wall of stacked newsprints forming the word Superficial, each holds a designer’s name and word puzzle.

However, due to time constraints, it became too complicated to create multiple versions of puzzles. Instead, we embraced the idea of multiples: cheap, riso-printed sheets that could be taken, discarded, or pieced together—fragments that only made sense as a whole.

Assembly Stage

This phase was the time to work on other applications of the exhibition, while making sure everything ties back to the original concept. We then expanded the identity design in the following ways:

1. Abstraction
We revived the pixelated eyes idea, incorporating participants’ eyes and thesis keywords hidden among the stacks of the Superficial wall.

2. Exhibitors' Names
Participant names were applied as white vinyl italics directly on the floor in front of the wall—subtle enough that people might step over them without noticing.

3. Name Tags
Name tags were riso-printed on smaller newsprint sheets, stacked and hung beside each person’s work.

4. Social Media
We scanned actual prints from the wall and overlaid information in the same style and scale as the participant names, mirroring the physical installation.

Installation Stage

The most chaotic and exciting part of our process was this. Words cannot describe this so here's a time-lapse compilation :-)

@2026 Lucie Tran