Pretty Ugly
Context
Context
Pretty Ugly is an accumulation of my creative journey at USC, four years of critique, unlearning, and redefining what it means to create. This work examines how design is structured, reproduced, and classified—using grids, color models, and scale as both tools and constraints.
Pretty Ugly is an accumulation of my creative journey at USC, four years of critique, unlearning, and redefining what it means to create. This work examines how design is structured, reproduced, and classified—using grids, color models, and scale as both tools and constraints.
Description
Description
Composed of 376 sheets arranged within a 10 × 10 ft modular grid, the installation translates my written thesis into a visual system grounded in CMYK, repetition, and accumulation.
Composed of 376 sheets arranged within a 10 × 10 ft modular grid, the installation translates my written thesis into a visual system grounded in CMYK, repetition, and accumulation.
Deliverables
Deliverables
graphic design
graphic design
installation
installation
experiential design
experiential design
conceptual development
conceptual development
spatial storytelling
spatial storytelling
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how social media and algorithms speed up what becomes trendy or outdated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how social media and algorithms speed up what becomes trendy or outdated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how social media and algorithms speed up what becomes trendy or outdated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:
