THEMIS K.

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SORTiE

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branding. 3D. packaging design. motion graphics.ui/ux.

If youā€™ve ever walked around NYC, it's virtually impossible to encounter a trash-free street. I've always wondered why the waste management system was so atrocious, leading me to investigate. I discovered that improper waste disposal is one of the biggest contributing factors to the waste management problem in the city. I also discovered just how bad the rodent problem is (did you know the rats don't cross boroughs?), and how trash is at the root of many other health, safety, and systemic issues the city faces. This prompted my idea for SORTiE, a speculative project exploring the future of public waste.Ā 

As the target demographic would be the general public, which covers a large range of ages, I knew I needed to create something that appealed to children yet remained easy to use for older citizens. I drew inspiration from other cities such as Tokyo and Amsterdam (notoriously clean cities) as well as The Sims to get an idea of what speculative functions a bin could have. This is where SORTiE ( a play on the French word for exit) came to life ā€” a smart trashcan that encourages the public to sort their waste properly.Ā 

SORTiE is controlled through itsā€™ no-contact e-ink display to ensure a smooth, hygienic experience. The interface allows users to indicate the type of waste they are discarding, and SORTiE slides open different compartments accordingly. The smart technology in SORTiE checks that the objects discarded are in the proper compartment. The bin contains self-cleaning UV lights and is attached to various tubes so the waste exits the bin frequently to prevent buildup. Additionally, this small step in discarding waste aims to shift our consumption habits and allow us to reflect on how we can reduce our waste production.


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EVA FOUNDATION
web design. ui/ux. merchandise. art direction.


As part of my position at Digital Counsel, I had the opportunity to work on the launch of Eva Foundation in collaboration with the team. Eva Foundation is a publicly accessible, women-owned art foundation that houses works by 20th and 21st-century women artists.Ā 

My contributions sto the launch are primarily the website design, direction of photography, developing brand collateral such as merchandise and business cards, and the development of the foundationā€™s social media presence, encompassing posts and beyond.Ā 



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THE_ESTATE_MiS_
SALE


web design. web development. art direction.

Iā€™m (the alternate me) dead. All my remaining material items that have potential for sale are being auctioned. Through this process, I am condensing my entire existence into material objects. However, upon closer inspection, one comes to realize that these items arenā€™t real. Was I even real?

I took photos of everything I owned at the time and ran those through DALL-E (the older version when it wasnā€™t eerily good (and evil) yet) to create non-existent objects that were grounded in reality. This prompted questions about how we determine the value of an object without knowing what itā€™s made of. Do we still project our constructs onto them? Will our realization that these objects cannot physically exist influence our perception? Also, why do I feel like I want some of these items even though I technically own them already?



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THE COMPLICATED BEAUTY OF INAUTHENTIC FOOD


book design. cover design. art direction.
writing.Ā 

In addition to my interest in fish, a growing fascination of mine has been the origins of dishes in various cuisines ā€” particularly how culture, emigration, colonialism, and class have played a part. Iā€™ve come to really appreciate how deeply connected so many cultures are, and how food is often at the center.Ā 

This saddle-stitch book contains my writing from a research project into the origins of foods I grew up eating and how they can be seen as inauthentic, despite being so vital to the culture of Hong Kong cuisine. This idea of inauthentic food began to grow into a deeper exploration of food as a mode of cultural sharing, serving as an emblem of history intertwined with people's stories and identities. Ā 

The book begins by exploring my personal experience growing up and eating at Hong Kong-style diners known as Cha Chaan Teng. These restaurants were established to allow the lower-class Hong Kong Chinese to indulge in the same luxuries as British colonizers through food. Whilst this writing and research draws from my personal experiences, I hope to expand my understanding of food origins through reading about other people's experiences. This prompted me to create this book and share my ideas with others, inviting any feedback and input. If you'd like to read this please send me an email!

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WORKING ARTISTĀ 
web design. web development. art direction.


Working Artist is a community that celebrates other artists & creatives and connects artists to resources related to healthcare, financial literacy, and more. To supplement these resources, they also interview artists about their practice and how they stay afloat as working artists.Ā 

As Working Artist only existed on Substack, I designed and developed this website to give Working Artist a personal platform that is more accessible than the one-page scroll format of substack. The website includes an archive of all their articles, a resource hub, and a spotlight on events. The site is built to grow alongside the group as more content gets published.Ā 

There are also some fun features such as a flower that can blossom, reflecting the way the group hopes to help artists flourish. There are also features to mark which articles have been read and the ability to change the colors on the site so visitors can have a personalized experience.Ā 


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CONSIDERĀ 
THE LOBSTER

cover design.
book design.
illustration.
Ā 

This laser-printed saddle-stitch book uses the text from David Foster Wallaceā€™s essay Consider The Lobster. Known for its unconventionally long footnotes, the text opened an exploration into how these unique footnotes could inform the design of a book.Ā 

What struck me most about the essay wasnā€™t the length of the footnotes. Rather, it was the way the footnotes read, presenting as a story of its own. This unconventional approach to writing informed the design of the book through two separate interior parts ā€” one for the main text and one for the footnotes. This gives the reader the option to explore the text in different ways ā€” footnotes only, text only, both simultaneously, or some other way I am unable to fathom with my mind.Ā 

The use of ASCII art repeats the words ā€˜Consider The Lobster, inspired by the subversion of footnotes in this essay. Whilst footnotes are often disregarded or seen as afterthoughts in most writing cases, the footnotes in Wallaceā€™s essay come together to tell a story. In the same way, these small letters come together to create the imagery in this book.



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PERFORMINGĀ 
ARTIST WEBSITE

web design. web development. art direction.

This portfolio site was created for Lavinia Eloise Bruce, an interdisciplinary artist who works with music and dance.Ā 

The site acts as an extension of performance and the stage. Rather than navigating via scrolling through the browser window, each element of the site appears based on different cues (as if they were all performers). Each piece of text, image, and video has a distinct role and choreography, reflecting the rhythm and intentionality of Laviniaā€™s work.Ā 

Backstage, a dynamically linked spreadsheet acts as the script or score, orchestrating the site's content in real time. This allows the site to remain fluid and adaptableā€”allowing the performance to evolve, just like a live performance.Ā 




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FORCING EVERYTHING Iā€™VE LOST TO RETURN.


video, 20m. website. 3D animation. etched marble. metal book. Ā 

Does everything online last forever?

FORCING EVERYTHING Iā€™VE LOST TO RETURN. began by exploring this through a quest: to look for livestreams that I had made as a child on a now-defunct app. Similar to many of my peers, I had unrestricted internet access at an early age. Uh oh. That means everything Iā€™ve ever done online is forever documented somewhere... At least thatā€™s what I was told growing up. But I guess this isnā€™t true. Not everything online is forever ā€¦ nothing is.

Aside from my self-documentation online, meticulous documentation of myself exists through physical photographs and videos ā€” the most compelling being the videos of my birth. As I continued work on this project, an interest in physical and personal archives arose. This expanded the investigation to explore the connection between physical and digital artifacts, memory, loss, and preservation within a rapidly evolving technological context. Over time, a new question came to the forefront: How can I make something last forever?

This work further defines my creative practice ā€” from process to output. FORCING EVERYTHING Iā€™VE LOST TO RETURN. is unequivocally an amalgamation of my interests and thoughts made accessible to others.

Read more about FORCING EVERYTHING Iā€™VE LOSE TO RETURN
Published in Framework 103


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ME/ROBOT/FISH


3D animation. sound design. video, 1m 40s.Ā 

As a lover of all things ocean, one of my biggest dreams in life is to become a fish. When I watched Ponyo as little Themis, I was so envious of her underwater life. Then, I began scuba diving and was enticed by the beauty of the depths of the ocean. I wanted nothing more than to rip my regulator out and be able to breathe underwater.Ā 

In ME/ROBOT/FISH my dreams become a reality. After selling my successful startup, I build a private lab and turn myself into a robot fish.Ā 

This short film was made in Maya, and the sound effects were recorded by myself, or sourced from freesounds.org. Most of the animation is from motion capture, and I was actually in the suit!Ā