chloelee.me
As a 1.5-generation Korean immigrant and Gen Z designer navigating the
rapid technological and cultural shifts, I see life’s complexities mirrored in
the objects and systems I use daily. When I was a young girl with only a
flip phone living in Korea, I could not have imagined the rise of
smartphones, just as I never expected generative AI to become
mainstream when I started college. The continuous release of new tools
has reconstructed the way we think, work, and adapt while quietly
dictating our interactions with the world.
Through an ongoing exploration of self-navigation, my thesis,
NON-ENTITY, examines how the digital and physical tools I use are not
only extensions of my identity, but also active forces that shape my
creative agency. At the same time, tools impose preordained structures,
automating thought processes and influencing decisions that often go
unnoticed. This tension between control and surrender—between
adaptation to or escape from default systems—parallels the broader
struggle between human authorship and automation. Where does the tool
end, and the creator begin?
In questioning this dichotomy, I seek to find ways to reclaim authorship
and challenge how design can break away from predetermined pathways.
Blending analog and digital methods, subverting preordained settings, and
constructing generative systems, I examine the default structures
embedded in design tools. Rather than passively accepting automation
and predefined workflows, NON-ENTITY explores ways to break,
repurpose, and reconfigure these systems as a means to foster space for
more intentional, unexpected, and personal modes of creation for all.
Boston University College of Fine Arts
School of Visual Arts