Date of Award
Spring 5-31-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Graphic Design
First Advisor
Bethany Johns
Second Advisor
Anther Kiley
Third Advisor
Ryan Waller
Abstract
This research explores why modern visual experiences often feel hollow—why suburban McMansions imitate classical architecture and why luxury spaces feel staged. Instead of simply criticizing these aesthetics, I want to understand them: Why do we embrace symbols disconnected from history? What makes them feel familiar and comforting?
Using Jean Baudrillard’s idea of hyperreality and Marshall Berman’s view on modernity, I examine how today’s aesthetics are simulations—designs that no longer refer to a real past but exist as self-repeating symbols. Everyday objects borrow classical decorations without structural purpose, offering a sense of tradition and familiarity without real historical connection. Modernity, while promoting progress, also isolates us, leading to a desire for visual familiarity.
Through speculative design, visual essays, and branding experiments, I rework suburban architecture, luxury branding, and corporate aesthetics to reveal their hidden structures. Inspired by Zhuangzi’s Daoist philosophy, I see these simulations not as failures but as reflections of our own needs.
Recommended Citation
Zhao, Yanchen, "Comfort in Contradiction" (2025). Masters Theses. 1416.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1416
Creative Commons License
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