Graphic Designer. Motion Designer. Photographer. Videographer. Creator of Exciting Things.
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Motion Design + Videography + Book Design + Exhibition Design
DECYPHERED
DECYPHERED is a multimedia experience aimed towards prospective b-boys, b-girls, and spectators of the breaking dance form (colloquially known as breakdancing). Through direct engagement with the video projection piece and its accompanying book, participants gain a glimpse into the often-overlooked history and culture behind breaking.
This project was my Spring 2025 Design Capstone, with a timeline of over 5 months from initial proposals (November 2024) to final reception (April 2025).
It is multifaceted in nature, and in nearly every sense of the word. The project features written content and interviews from Joseph G. Schloss’ Foundation, as well as a wide range of breaking photography and footage, both archival and self-captured.
Advised by Amy Auman
April 2025Video projection pieceVideo projection pieceVideo projection piece
The video projection piece and book are intended to complement each other; while they can each be experienced separately, the project truly comes to life when the two experiences overlap.
Both elements follow the same 4-chapter structure, and at specific pages in the book, the reader is encouraged to hold the book up to the projection. Each chapter is defined by a distinct 2-color palette, and at certain pages in the book, the colors optically “vibrate”; once the viewer holds these pages up against the projection, however, the colors transform and become clearly legible.
The two elements also correlate to two different ways in which people interact with breaking culture: the experiential approach (the video projection piece) and the historical approach (the book). While each approach has its own benefits, it is important to balance them. Someone who only focuses on the experience, through practicing and competing with other b-boys/b-girls, may fail to understand the importance of foundation and the historical significance behind the culture they participate in. On the other hand, someone who only knows about the history but refrains from participating may “know a lot” about breaking, but they miss out on the intangibles that come with competing with and learning from fellow dancers.
By all accounts, DECYPHERED is a project born out of passion. Since my first year of college, I have come to meet some amazing people in the breaking community, and I have fallen in love with the dance and the culture. However, upon doing some research, I realized that information and history about the culture can be scarce and unreliable, and that is what inspired me to make this project. There is much more to the world of breaking than it appears at surface level, and I hope this project can provide some inspiration and interest.
This project was by far the most adventurous creative endeavor I’ve undertaken, especially regarding the sheer scale and number of factors I had to consider. I really benefited from setting my own schedule and deliverables, and I learned how to organize and divide my workflow in order to keep steady progress on the video and book simultaneously. I also had to manage some troubleshooting with projection and managing color consistency between projected and printed imagery, which forced me to stay flexible and manage my time accordingly.
Process documentation, from initial concept to final reception
Initial motion studies
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