The genre™ is part memoir, part cultural analysis, and part design theory. Who says you can't mix shade, tea, and feminine realness in a critique of the ways concepts of god, gender, race and design heroes have failed us — all in pursuit of divining the power we hold to heal ourselves?*

Writing gives a spoken voice to the genre™. I capture a look back at GD1, assess the ROI on the labor of code-switching, reflect on learning languages, and offer up a pedagogical exercise that baby-steps students into centering themselves in their work.

Projects give a visual voice to the genre™. Making sense of nonsense is illustrated in a second pass at embroidered type—this time employing an indigenous Otomi technique with Mixta (a typeface designed by Rodrigo Fuenzalida). Internet nonsense is used to generate AI memes. The labor of code-switching is illustrated in a time-based collage of giphys and music from NoName. Surprisingly I find the secrets of my ancestors (recent and long past) are hidden beneath a colonial petticoat that presents itself in the form of an audacious and indulgent ‘Barbie cake.’

Care & Feeding catalogs the “being” part of “human-being.” This is where I capture reflections on the importance and value of self-care, of being an audience, of having human interactions, and of living life outside of the computer.

Pulled from my semester 1 eval from Silas Munro “ The genre is part memoir, cultural analysis, and design theory. And the vibe is right. Who says you can't mix shade, tea, and feminine realness with a critique of the ways masculinity and design heroes have failed us?”