Tape
Visual rhetoric studies
Design processes

This project was done as a student at OCAD University in the Design Processes 1 course. I was given an object, Tape in this case, and was told to research and experiment with it to come up with an interesting concept. This booklet was made with the water-based tape transfer technique, which involves applying tape to an image, soaking it in water to loosen the paper, and then gently rubbing off the paper. This process leaves the image on the tape, allowing it to be transferred onto another surface.

Tape in this project represents Authority, dominance, and social constraints. Tape can forcefully hold objects in place or control how they move, evoking ideas about power, control, or external forces shaping lives and environments. It symbolizes the invisible pressures that control individuals in society, whether political, social, or cultural.

Not long ago, a specific event in my life caused my perspective of life and the world to change, this came with its turbulence. It was a transformative and sometimes painful situation that had different stages. The first one I represented in my project was Identity, I began to question who I was, about my culture, family, upbringing, socioeconomic status, etc. I began then with my second stage, Self-reflection, examining my thoughts, actions, and emotions to gain insight, foster personal growth, and improve decision-making, helping me align with values and goals. Of course, the Third stage came out after that, it was regret. I noticed that due to my beliefs in the past, I made many decisions that were regretted, wondering what would’ve been of me if I had not chosen some things in my life. There was also loneliness, another stage. Changing perspectives and leaving behind some of my core beliefs was confusing, scary and even upsetting for some family members and friends, People could not understand why I was going through a stage of change. Ultimately, the last stage was transition, just moving on with my life with a different perspective.

During my life crisis, I learned that I had just come out from a box to a bigger box but at the end of the day I was still living in a different human construct, the tape represents those social constructs that hold objects in place or control how they move, evoking ideas of power, control, and external forces shaping lives and environments.