Disrupting the Status Quo: A Portfolio of Critical Design Projects Addressing UC San Diego's Challenges

COMM 124A - Critical Design Practice/Advanced Studio is a hands-on course that explores the intersection of design and critical theory. It introduces design as a political activity and examines how differently designed objects and environments can perpetuate or interrupt the status quo. Students learn to identify ambiguous problems, give and receive feedback, and create prototypes that engage communities and broader publics. By viewing design as a tool for long-term social transformation, students are encouraged to think critically about the impact of their work on society.
‍
During this course, I designed a replica of UC San Diego's construction banner and developed flyers based on the construction banner's style guide. Using Canva, I brought the construction banner to life by printing it, with the aim of drawing attention to the university's socially dead reputation.
‍
Our critical design campaign on Reddit successfully engaged over 200 UCSD undergraduates, raising awareness about school spirit.

Design Development

Here are 3 of the graphic designs I have produced

1. Construction Banner Replica

2. New Football Stadium Flier

3. Facebook Cover

Results & Formal Portfolio

Below, you will find a portfolio that my team and I collaborated on, which addresses an issue at UC San Diego and highlights how we shed light on it.

COMM 124B - Critical Design Practice/Topic Studio - This course expands on the concept of design as a political activity and encourages group work to develop quarter-long projects that explore the political role of design in built environments, organizations, and media technologies. Through this process, students will enhance their ability to design in public, for publics, and with publics.
‍
During this specific quarter-long project of Winter 2023 (January - March 2023), our objective was to address the issue of the Undergraduate Housing Crisis at UC San Diego.
‍
In the scope of this project, I assumed the role of being part of the Graphics & UX/Web Designer team and was responsible for developing and overseeing the graphics through mediums such as Figma, Canva, and Adobe Photoshop as displayed below. Furthermore, I gained proficiency in using Webflow to construct our own news article website and seamlessly integrate the content generated by the Investigative Journalism Group, Video & Photography Group, and Promotion Group to create comprehensive and unified content regarding the issue.
‍
Our collective efforts resulted in achieving over 350,000 views through TikTok engagement and garnered attention from numerous local news reporters to further the discussion about the Undergraduate Housing Crisis.
‍