Shiyue Wang
Life of Things, Things of Life (RISD Thesis Book)
Life of Things, Things of Life is my MFA thesis book at Rhode Island School of Design, It serves as a comprehensive publication of my work at RISD and doubles as archival documentation. The book is designed to resemble a ream of laser printer paper, reflecting the essence of my work: analog, printed, and intimately tied to everyday, inviting readers to look beyond its mundane appearance, discover the narrative potential of ordinary things.
The structure of this book echoes both the process of printing and the layout of a laser printer, segmented into sections titled Warmup, Presets, Print Jobs, and User Manual."Warm-up" serves as an abstract, "Presets" introduce my foundational principles and methods, "Print Jobs" are divided into trays, each presenting curated works under a specific theme with an intro essay as the beginning, and "User Manual" serves as a glossary decoding defined terms. Colored divider pages act as visual guides, enhancing navigability, while footnotes display basic metadata for each chapter and project, such as sheet count, number of projects, and image tallies, drawing on traditional archiving methods.
Formatted in the standard 8.5 x 11 inch size, this thesis embraces the default settings of everyday printing, with margins designed to mimic full-spread bleeds— a nod to the often overlooked beauty of basic elements. The images are printed single-sided, with pad binding preserve the look of a stack of paper, glossy and matte finish papers are used to represent different types of images.As you turn each page, think of this not merely as reading, but as a chance to explore the value and relevance of everyday objects. Explore, blur, deconstruct, and elevate the meaning of everyday objects through graphic design, and perhaps, find a trace of inspiration among these carefully laid sheets.