Pretty Ugly
Overview
Overview
Who decides what counts as good design?
Pretty Ugly examines how design taste is taught, reproduced, and accelerated through education, software, and online culture. Developed as my USC design thesis, it brings those questions into a physical installation of 376 sheets arranged within a 10 × 10-foot modular grid.
Who decides what counts as good design?
Pretty Ugly examines how design taste is taught, reproduced, and accelerated through education, software, and online culture. Developed as my USC design thesis, it brings those questions into a physical installation of 376 sheets arranged within a 10 × 10-foot modular grid.
My contribution
My contribution
I developed the written thesis, graphic compositions, and installation.
I developed the written thesis, graphic compositions, and installation.
Created with
Created with
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Indesign
Adobe Indesign
‘Pretty Ugly’ explores:
how design taste is taught and inherited
how “good design” comes from old rules and power structures
how social media and algorithms speed up what becomes trendy or outdated
the design software monopoly and gatekeeping
how designers navigate pressure to be visible, fast, and relevant
Read more: https://www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2026/04/01/usc-design-student-fights-the-binaries-of-art/
‘Pretty Ugly’ explores:
how design taste is taught and inherited
how “good design” comes from old rules and power structures
how social media and algorithms speed up what becomes trendy or outdated
the design software monopoly and gatekeeping
how designers navigate pressure to be visible, fast, and relevant
Read more: https://www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2026/04/01/usc-design-student-fights-the-binaries-of-art/
‘Pretty Ugly’ explores:
how design taste is taught and inherited
how “good design” comes from old rules and power structures
how social media and algorithms speed up what becomes trendy or outdated
the design software monopoly and gatekeeping
how designers navigate pressure to be visible, fast, and relevant
Read more: https://www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2026/04/01/usc-design-student-fights-the-binaries-of-art/
To design is to take responsibility—not just for aesthetics, but for impact.
To design is to take responsibility—not just for aesthetics, but for impact.
To design is to take responsibility—not just for aesthetics, but for impact.
What do we create? How do we create? Who do we create for? Why do we create?
What do we create? How do we create? Who do we create for? Why do we create?
What do we create? How do we create? Who do we create for? Why do we create?
Some of my favorite pieces out of the 376:
Some of my favorite pieces out of the 376:
Some of my favorite pieces out of the 376:
