Context Alters Identity is a book-length philosophical essay and exhibition that explores how design shapes, reflects, and reconstructs the self. Blending memoir, theory, and visual narrative, the project investigates the intersections between identity, context, and creative practice through the lenses of psychology, philosophy, and design ethics.

 

Structured around Carl Jung’s cognitive archetypes and Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s Whole Brain Living, the book traces four internal “characters” that mirror the designer’s evolving relationship to self and society. Each section interweaves reflective writing, visual diagrams, and symbolic imagery to examine how perception and purpose shift across environments.

 

The accompanying exhibition, part of the show Other People’s Prisms, materialized these ideas through an interactive installation titled The Box — a mirrored light sculpture with color, brightness, and reflection changing so that an individuals appearance changes in the mirrors. The piece serves as a metaphor for the fluidity of identity and perception, inviting viewers to consider how their presence alters what they see.

 

Together, the book and installation form a unified body of work proposing Philosophical Design: a framework positioning design not just as problem-solving, but as a means of inquiry, reflection, and meaning-making.

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Download a PDF of the book.