Golden Child (The Onesiestm Project): a Commentary on Social Reaction to Gay Adoption

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

College of Visual and Performing Arts

GOLDEN CHILD (THE ONESIESTM PROJECT): A COMMENTARY ON SOCIAL REACTION TO GAY ADOPTION

A Thesis in Visual Design by Alain D. Blunt

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts

I grant the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth the non-exclusive right of making a single copy on a not-for-profit basis to replace the University’s circulating copy if it is lost or destroyed.

Alain D. Blunt

Date We approve the thesis of Alain D. Blunt

Date of Signature

Yoon Soo Lee Professor of Design Thesis Advisor

Thomas Spencer Ladd Associate Professor of Design Thesis Committee

Janet Fairbairn Full Time Lecturer of Design Thesis Committee

Mark Millstein Graduate Program Director, Department of Design

Adrian Tio Dean, College of Visual and Performing Arts

Tesfay Meressi Associate Provost for Graduate Studies Abstract

Golden Child (The OnesiesTM Project): A Commentary on Social Reaction to Gay Adoption by Alain D. Blunt

My graduate studies and the birth of my son have transformed me. I’ve evolved from a “silent partner” in corporate design — a professional adhering to strict client-driven standards — into an expressive artist who has something personal to say about the world. Flowing out of my identity as a gay, married, and adoptive parent, and my status as a biracial, adopted immigrant, my current work is a critique of society’s lack of social tact and lingering prejudice surrounding adoption, particularly gay adoption. Working within conventions of parody, I use standard design tools and methodology to construct combinations of text and image that communicate subversive messages to make the implicit explicit. I study and borrow from formats in the baby product industry, such as “Onesies”™, and from traditional print media. My primary objective is storytelling; an additional goal is to raise social awareness.

iii SECTION 1 Introduction

Ultimately, my work is a parodistic critique of society’s general ignorance of and biases on adoption, particularly gay adoption. My OnesiesTM Project represents a change in direction for me because it blurs the lines between personal narrative and political commentary. I am using the iconic format of the infant bodysuit (and exploring other forms associated with the baby product industry) to display language and image that seek to provoke a response from the viewer. These personal statements are somewhat subversive in nature because they are veiled in parody, irony, and satire. I want the content to challenge expectations and elicit conversation.

This is the work that I connect with most as a designer, as a parent, and as someone who has something to say about the life-changing events of the last three years. This conceptual point of departure in my work successfully wraps up all the themes that I’ve been talking about since the start of my three-year course of study: identity (husband, father, gay man, victim of prejudice), race, alienation, and emotional labor (managing others’ perceptions of us through emotion management), and even design and branding.

I should have known I would end up having a career in the visual arts. From an early age, I was fascinated with the act of making images, whatever the medium. I was commonly known as “the resident artist” in school. For me, art was revelatory, transformative, magical, and above all, one of my few outlets for expression.

Growing up in a strict Vietnamese household, I was brought up to speak when spoken to, stay quiet while others talk, and “tone it down.” In my artistic life, I attempt to hush these old voices for a new voice of my own, one that I can use to express myself openly, and one that seeks to expose topics that can seem uncomfortable to some.

1 Never one to rock the boat as a child, I had always done what was expected of me. As a result, my desire to study graphic design at the University of Maryland was met with both awe and resistance from my parents, especially my mother. She wanted her son to have a “respectable” profession; I simply wanted to study a subject that I loved. After a lengthy impassioned argument, they both surprisingly gave in. As their support for my artistic endeavors increased throughout my undergraduate experience, so did my confidence. I wanted so much to prove my mother wrong so I forged ahead excitedly in all of my classes, graduating on time and with high marks.

Over the years, I have built a nice career for myself, slowly but surely. Design was my calling; it was the glue that connected all the different aspects of my life seamlessly. Over my eighteen- year career, I gained corporate, freelance and agency experience in designing, art directing and producing award-winning work for a variety of projects and clients. I am proud of my work and remain passionate about my discipline.

Most of my design work so far has been client-centric; its primary goal is to communicate a clear message on the client’s behalf. This kind of work is focused on both perceived and financial success; thus it’s not about the designer’s motivation or intention behind the work. Even though my clients’ success trickles down to me, internally I’ve always felt a little like the “silent partner” in the designer-client scenario. Until coming back to school to pursue advanced studies in design, little of my work had been made just for me or just for my benefit.

With its unexpected twists and turns, life has a way of keeping us engaged. One such surprise came in the form of a call one day from the chair of Design at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, Massachusetts. It was an offer to teach a class and I was not sure what to do. I had never taught before and did not understand explicitly what was involved. After interviewing for the opportunity, the school asked me to join their small but trusted circle of adjuncts. This turned out to be one of the smartest decisions I’ve ever made, and it changed my life profoundly.

The joy of teaching led me to the decision to obtain an advanced degree in my field, after which I can pursue my long-term plans of teaching full-time in higher education. However, my MFA

2 experience has proven to be much more than a means to an end. It has provided a supportive environment for professional growth, self-discovery, and the quest for my true voice.

Last year, my husband and I went through a life-changing event: we adopted a baby boy. The journey to fatherhood was eye-opening for me, and I learned a lot about myself along the way. The birth of our son has to be the most thrilling and all-consuming experience of my life. How could I not talk about it? Suddenly this “silent partner” was overcome with emotion and had so much to say. I’ve enjoyed writing about, talking about, and making work that is about my recent experiences with adoption, my son Max, and fatherhood.

Apart from a few glimpses of happiness or excitement, the majority of the pre-adoption process was scary, anxiety-provoking, and even occasionally ugly. My first instinct was to channel everything that was going on into making art. I had a genuine desire to help other pre-adoptive parents; this resulted in the design and development of an Adoption Profile Guide. The guide’s intent is to help waiting parents through the process of creating their adoption profile, the single most important document for waiting parents to connect with expectant parents in domestic adoption.

I believe that the guide needed to be made, but although our story was represented in it I felt that its focus was still on “the other” and not on me/us. I was holding back; I had more to say. It came in the form of a revelation, something that I had been processing for a while but couldn’t verbalize until then. Adopting a child as a gay married couple was challenging enough to manage; however, it was the reaction of outsiders that surprised us most. Some reactions were to be expected — some sad, some shocking. I realized how emotional this all made me, how it brought up deep-rooted issues of self-identity, race, and family for me.

Since I am exploring the complexity of identity, I look for references of people who focus on this theme in art making. My own identity (I am gay, biracial, multilingual, adopted and an immigrant) reveals itself in different aspects and at various points in my current pieces. I am looking at artists and designers who use storytelling in their work. I am particularly interested in those artists who do this in the form of parody.

3 SECTION 2 Sources

2.1 Childhood

In grade school we were asked to transcribe poems and stories we had read in class onto blank ruled notebooks, but I always went above and beyond. I spent hours filling up pages with colorful illustrations of scenes from Aesop’s Fables and nursery rhymes. In fact, at the age of eight, my teachers began to collect and keep my notebooks at the end of each semester. My love of art, and later design, stayed with me throughout my undergraduate education, which exposed me to a range of classes that served to deepen my interest in the subject and broaden my creative horizons.

My role as a designer is deeply influenced by my childhood and multicultural background. I am the son of an American father and Vietnamese mother, and was raised in “the Vietnamese way”: I had a relatively strict and religious upbringing. Asian culture is known for encouraging a strong work ethic, discipline and excellence; these are all values that inform the method with which I approach my work. It doesn’t surprise me that I was attracted to the practice of design for its one fundamental challenge: creative (and effective) problem-solving within strictly defined parameters.

I believe that new experiences are the seeds for personal growth and inspiration, and I benefited from many new experiences growing up. For example, I traveled extensively with my family as a boy. This highlight of my childhood exposed me to different cultures, helped to increase my social awareness of the world, and taught me a nuanced approach to designing that gives the work a richer more layered meaning. I enjoy exhaustive conceptual exploration and engaging with a project on different levels and from different points of view. In particular I enjoy the multifaceted nature of holistic branding where I get to design all the materials within a brand system. Individually,

4 these materials can serve disparate purposes; together, they need to all relate to each other, visually and conceptually.

2.2 Paul Rand and Swiss Design

I’m inspired heavily by the work of Swiss designers who practice their craft within a strict tradition of orderliness and precision. I also admire designer Paul Rand, arguably one of the most influential and iconic American graphic designers of the twentieth century, and my most revered design idol. Born Peretz Rosenbaum, August 15, 1914, Rand embraced the ideals of European Modernism and was one of the originators of the Swiss Design movement in the United States (Heller, 1997). Although his design career spans six decades and involves a variety of work as author, art director, illustrator, and professor, he is probably best known for his corporate logo work, including designs for IBM, UPS, Enron, Westinghouse, and ABC (Heller, 1999).

Although Rand’s body of work has had a profound impact on my design career and aesthetic, on a more personal level I see connections between Rand’s life and career to mine. Heller (1999) traces Rand’s life and body of work. Considered mostly a self-taught designer, he developed an affinity for art at a young age but the road to a career in graphic design was hampered not only by his strict Orthodox Jewish upbringing but also a father who couldn’t see the earning potential in making art. Despite these obstacles, Rand took night classes at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn while simultaneously attending high school (at his father’s request), which motivated him to pursue his growing interest in commercial art.

Paul Rand had a role in helping to establish Swiss Style, also known as International Style, in American graphic design. Developed in Switzerland in the 1950s and considered progressive at the time, Swiss Style favors clean lines, readability, and objectivity, and is characterized by asymmetric layouts, the disciplined use of a grid, stark visual contrasts (i.e. organic versus geometric), white space, sans-serif typefaces, and flush left/ragged right text (Heller,1997 ). Many examples of this style show a preference for photography instead of illustration, and

5 Fig. 1. Paul Rand’s first cover for Direction, November/ Fig. 2. Paul Rand’s Christmas edition cover for Direction, December 1938, print. From “FreeLivin” blog, by G. Jensen, December 1940, print. From “Har Har Har” blog, by “Karl,” 2011. Retrieved from http://gittajensen.blogspot.com/ 2010. Retrieved from http://harharhar.tumblr.com/post/ 2011/04/paul-rand.html 870792564 typography is often featured as a main design element. In one break with this movement, Rand seemed to favor the hand-drawn quality of illustrative design solutions to photography, and when he did use photography, it was usually ready-made or borrowed, not original (Hollis, 2001, 113) (Figs. 1 and 2).

His association with like-minded modern artists like Kandinsky, Cassandre, Moholy-Nagy, Klee, Lissitzky, and Le Corbusier resonates with me. These were all artists who, like me, aspired to create works that are timeless, not faddish. In Le Corbusier’s words, “to be modern is not a fashion, it is a state” (Heller, 1999, 12). It is from the works of these artists and others that Rand developed an appreciation for geometry, bold color, playful typography, experimentation, and line, though the end result was always stylistically and uniquely his own (Heller, 1997).

6 Although form and content were equally important to him, Rand seemed to favor formal issues slightly more, because he believed that “the formal interpretation of visual ideas is the designer’s primary mission” (Beirut, 2007, 36). Although content can serve as a solid starting point in the design process, for Rand, what ultimately distinguishes good art from bad art, or good design from bad design, is answered within the formal qualities of the work. Here’s where Rand and I differ in our opinion: my recent work deals with a fusion of text and image, where I am providing much of the original content. Because content (text) carries the message, it has slightly more weight than any of the formal qualities. Content predicates form, which in turn creates meaning.

2.3 Additional Design/Art Influences

If I admire Rand for his aesthetic contributions to the practice of graphic design, then I similarly admire Alan Fletcher, late British graphic designer and founder of Pentagram London, for his “seamless approach in design” (Gosling, 2013). Fletcher, who wholeheartedly believed that all of life’s problems are design problems, had a witty outlook on design and life that appeals to me. He doesn’t distinguish between ‘design’ and ‘non-design’ thinking. Like many others who have followed in his footsteps, I was influenced by Fletcher’s intelligent design ideas and his complete holistic design lifestyle.

In the same vein, my identity as a designer can’t be separated from the other roles I play in life. Life is my studio. Design isn’t just producing client work that’s smart and effective for a client, or rich and meaningful for myself. It’s an approach to life and it constitutes a big part of who I am today. I try to find inspiration from the everyday.

While I have long familiarity with Rand, I have more recently been introduced to artists working in data illustration. Before, during, and after our son’s birth, we amassed an impressive collection of adoption-related books, documentation, paperwork, and informational materials. For me, they represent a vivid physical record of my journey into fatherhood. I had so much rich data at my disposal but was at a loss as to what to do with it all. In searching for ways to “process” the life-

7 Fig. 3. Literary organism illustration from Stefanie Posavec’s Writing Without Words project, which explores methods of visually representing text and visualizes the differences in writing styles of various authors, print poster. From “How a prototype argues,” A. Galey and S. Ruecker, 2010. Literary and Linguistic Computing, 25, p. 405-424. Retrieved from http://llc.oxfordjournals.org/search?fulltext=posavec&submit=yes&x=0&y=0 changing events of the past two years, and more specifically the data that resulted from them, I happily stumbled upon the work of Stefanie Posavec.

Posavec is a graphic designer who was born in Colorado and now lives in London permanently. One of her main areas of interest is data illustration, which she passionately differentiates from data visualization. Quite simply, data illustration suggests that data itself is not the focus of what is visualized, but the inspiration for something less scientifically grounded and more human. She explores and uses texts to generate data instead of the other way around. The process of data illustration helps the artist to visualize styles and themes that reveal themselves organically, thus presenting a new way of generating meaning from the data that is already there (Fig. 3). This new way of reading, also called data expressionism, manifests itself in a series of colorful illustrations that document Stefanie Posavec’s experience (Schenker, 2012).

8 Fig. 4. Posters in a series by Ely Kim from the group show Irrational Exuberance, print. From “ElyKim WeLikeHim” website by E. Kim, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.welikehim.com/

Encouraged and excited by Posavec’s refreshing approach to art and design work, I started to acknowledge my own collection of “adoption data” as a lens through which to see a subject from entirely new angles. For Posavec, the angle is more important than the data as a tool to see, or as she calls it a “souvenir of human engagement” (Schenker, 2012).

Motivated by principles of data expressionism, I allow the data to help drive my design solutions (or visualizations). Bearing in mind what is beyond the image, I don’t consider information sharing the main purpose of the visualization but more a reflection of human experience. In the process, I create new objects derived from what already exists, objects that are more layered in meaning, sometimes ambiguous, but always honest.

I just recently discovered the talents of designer Ely Kim, who labels himself humorously as an “art director/dancer/healer” on his personal website. Kim is a Brooklyn-based designer who

9 received his MFA from Yale in 2010 and currently works as Design Director for Mac Cosmetics. I became a fan after watching his viral video “Boombox,” in which he is featured dancing (with total abandon) to 100 songs in 100 locations over 100 days.

Like me, Kim pulls various aspects from his everyday life and background and puts them into the work. He openly admits that he is most influenced by the place where he grew up — Las Vegas — as well as by “puppies and crystals.” The series of posters in Irrational Exuberance (Fig. 4) uses humorous exclamations, questions, and statements to lead to a deeper reflection on contemporary consumer society.

With the kind of exposure his work has been getting, and his own recent success, it is surprising to find very little written about Kim himself. His spirit for life and the element of fun that are often featured in his work are infectious, and I was instantly hooked. However, what attracts me most to the work is a fine balance of unabashed joy, tinged with an honesty that is at once refreshing and arresting.

SECTION 3 Aesthetics

3.1 Overview

In my client work I deal with a number of themes and ideas. This is a key aspect of graphic design that excites me; I have the good fortune of working on many types of projects for a variety of industries, and every new experience for me is an opportunity to learn.

I explore the standard design tools — color, texture, typography, and grid structures to name a few — mainly for print media (in two-dimensional form). I most enjoy working with brands,

10 publications, and typography. My desire to see the world as it could be through the transformative quality of design, not necessarily as it really is, informs my overall design aesthetic — clean and uncluttered. I strive to create design solutions that are smart, conceptual, and to-the-point.

Inarguably, graphic design and typography (my two concentrations so far) have an important role to play in visual communication and in my work, but so do other areas of study offered in the MFA program. I am benefitting from the skills I have acquired in building my own book structures, and learning to translate print work to new media through coding with HTML and CSS. I am stretching myself to learn more about these other disciplines. Working with different media, processes and techniques expands the scope of my own visual dialogue and allows me to be more expressive. I am blending academic study, applied research, and the use of new tools to hone my craft and enrich my body of work.

My personal work is autobiographical and more narrowly focused in its approach to themes and ideas. Being adopted myself, the themes that interest me most are connected to notions of identity, differentiation, and place because I have an emotional investment in them.

Generally speaking, most of the formal choices in my work point back to the Swiss Style. This is not intentional; it’s a natural consequence of finding compatibilitywith a band of artists who think and work like me. This single consistent and unifying design trait affects my creative choices and informs the look of my creative output. Although most of the design elements I apply to personal work are common to the practice of design at large, the formal elements that are most critical to my current body of work include typography, color, format (shape and form), and image.

3.2 Typography

Design work often deals with image and text. Whether featured prominently as a design element, or acting more as a quiet participant, typography plays an important role in my pieces. My affinity for typographic solutions that are both elegant and flawless may stem from the fact that, as a boy

11 learning to write, I was taught that penmanship was a skill (almost) as prized as math or science. Inspired by the Swiss Style, I work with type that is clear, appropriate, and expressive.

The type in my personal work has a more expressive quality than in a lot of my client work. Taking cues again from Swiss Style, my primary design objective is still purity and simplicity, devoid of sentimentality. The adage “form follows function” became the imperative of Modernist architects, designers, and artists after the 1930s. As a consequence, my works emphasize, but are not limited to, minimal formal elements such as typography and layout rather than on superfluous textures and illustrations (Figs. 5 and 6).

When I appropriate type for my Onesies Project, its main purpose is to communicate a message clearly and succinctly. Type is expressive because all the choices that I make — from

Fig. 5. The [FOLD] Project Flyer, 8.5 x 8.5, 2011. Created Fig. 6. “MAX 08.08.12,” handmade book, 6.75 x 11, 2013. for an MFA group project — a “guerrilla origami” campaign Thesis work inspired by the birth of our son last August that culminated in a free workshop and film presentation and featuring ultrasound prints that progressively “emerge” on AHA! Night at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. from cover to cover.

12 Fig. 7. Detail of “High Status White Baby” from the OnesiesTM Project, archival inkjet print, 20 x 22

selecting fonts (serif or sans serif, weight, style, and size) to composing text (proportion, leading, and space) — enhance meaning in the piece and affect its final outcome. Staying true to the parody form, the inviting curves and casual tone of the lowercase letters in the type in Fig. 7 belie the more serious socio-political undertone of the message.

3.3 Color

I like to think that I’m a grounded person with a generally calm demeanor, and this is reflected in my “earthy” color choices which often derive from what I see in nature. This describes my overall color sensibility; on the flip side, however, there is also the drive to develop color palettes that satisfy specific project criteria or reinforce a focused message. In professional practice, personal tastes are not permitted to trump appropriateness.

13 My colors are either symbolic of particular concepts in my work, or fitting for my message or the context of the piece. In the case of my infant bodysuits, I chose to either stay with colors that recur in the majority of Onesies sold in the most popular retail outlets (primary and pastel colors come up a lot) or to tailor a color scheme to a specific phrase.

3.4 Format

Traditionally, I have worked predominantly for print applications and in two dimensions. At present, I am integrating arrangements of text and image with three-dimensional objects that are typically associated with infants. In addition to using conventional print media, I study and borrow from formats currently available in the baby product industry (mostly Onesies at the moment and receiving blankets in the future). Although the form and shape of objects change and vary with every new situation, their overall size remains appropriately small and intimate, something you can hold in your arms — like a baby, for instance.

I strive to fuse form and content in a way that presents the message clearly and succinctly to my audience, but in a surprising way by challenging the viewer’s perception of my work. I do this through the manipulation of scale and color, and the purposive juxtaposition of mismatched text and images. I wish for my works to reveal an attention to uniform design elements, abstract visualizations in the form of geometric shapes and patterns, uncommon color combinations, and sometimes unexpected text manipulations.

3.5 Image

I now break from my strong association to Swiss Style here, in the sense that I wish to use images that are both original and found: Maybe illustration, maybe photography, maybe scans. As with artists and writers of Swiss Style, I generally look to the present (my recent personal experiences as a new father to be specific) for critical, creative, and visual inspiration. Fatherhood has

14 invigorated me. It grounds me in the present while also motivating me to project into the future, setting aside the old in favor of the new.

My visual raw material is grounded in symbolic interactionism — a sociological perspective that contains three propositions: that “human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings that the things have for them,” that these meanings arise through social interaction, and that these meanings are “handled in, and modified through, an interpretive process used by the person in dealing with the things he [sic] encounters” (Blumer, 1969, 2). Hence infant clothing and receiving blankets are not merely a way for parents to dress their children and keep them safe and warm. They are also methods for displaying signs and symbols, and a powerful means for expressing lifestyle and identity.

SECTION 4 Work Method

4 .1 Methodology

Much of the way I work in the studio is informed by my many years of experience working in a traditional agency setting, and following what is commonly known as the “design studio methodology,” a pragmatic and stepped method of solving a problem using group review. The concept actually originated in architecture and industrial design schools, and was eventually adopted by graphic design studios because this tool was compatible with how studios operate on a daily basis. During my agency days I thrived on working in teams. I still believe that innovation results from some kind of teamwork (client/designer relationships are a good example of effective collaboration), and that the best solutions are achieved when more than one voice is heard.

15 Process and discipline are at the core of my identity as a graphic designer, so I embrace my process, which tends to remain fairly consistent. Every new project that I tackle can be broken down into five sequential creative phases, in which I:

(1) define the problem and research the topic to gain an understanding of the project, (2) generate ideas through sketching to develop concepts for the topic,

(3) execute design layouts to present,

(4) allow time for critique and self-assessment, and

(5) finalize the solution after rounds of iteration. These steps are not unusual for a designer, but it may be unusual how religiously I adhere to them.

In the first phase, I’m trying to gain an understanding of the project and articulate objectives as well as challenges. Topic and audience research are important during this crucial initial point in the process. This step helps me to frame and clarify the problem in a way that allows me to explore freely while also being focused.

In the second phase, I push myself to quickly generate a lot of sketches in a short period of time. The point here is to get as many ideas down on paper as quickly as possible. I enjoy sketching out ideas, as opposed to going straight to the computer. I find that the act of putting pencil to paper parallels decision making. With every new stroke, I’m exploring what could be, not what is. With each new concept explored, I’m discovering new constraints as well as new opportunities. Rough sketching prevents me from getting too attached to any one idea.

During presentation, I typically narrow down my favorite concepts and execute design layouts for consideration. In this phase, I’m articulating different design concepts that I hope will solve a particular problem or help get me to where I want to go. The best concepts reflect a solid understanding of the project criteria, follow strict parameters set by the client, and can make a clear argument for how they solve the problem.

16 With the critique phase, strong ideas merit further exploration, while weaker ideas get discarded. Critique is a constructive process that either encourages or questions arguments being made in the sketches. This step in the process provides me with insights that can influence my design choices in the iteration phase and shed light on concepts that may not have been fully fleshed out yet. The final phase in my process is the iteration phase where additional rounds of ideation are encouraged. Concepts are refined, recombined, and transformed, until only the strongest ideas are chosen and finalized. At this point, I return to the presentation phase to pitch my solutions once again, and the steps of Present, Critique, Iterate, start all over again until only one or two solid concepts survive.

This approach may seem rigid to some, but it has served me well. I have the utmost respect for the masters in my field and have learned a lot from them, including this way of approaching studio work. The design studio methodology uses a case study approach to problem solving unique and clearly defined challenges that also align with some strategic conceptual roadmap. The ultimate goal, and payoff, of my overall approach is to apply multiple cycles of creative idea generation (iteration) to arrive at solid design solutions. This has the added benefit of forcing new thinking while refining old thinking.

Even within the structure of this process there’s room for flexibility. In the case of personal work, I’ve allowed myself to go on tangents much more, and explore the road less taken, to reveal my true self. The birth of my son has had profound implications for my work. In my sharply emotional state I find connections where there apparently were none to begin with, and that’s exciting to me. I’m taking from real life and using my own story as content for more personally meaningful and rewarding work. Going on tangents afforded me the luxury of some serendipitous discoveries, unexpected surprises that have added richer layers of meaning to my projects and resulted in some of my successful and elegant design solutions.

17 4.2 Research

I was first introduced to the world of baby gear and clothing when my son Max was born in 2012. Countless hours were spent weaving in and out of aisles filled with diapers, formula, strollers, swaddling blankets, and other necessities. It was all so overwhelming, but what struck me most was how challenging it was to acquire Onesies and tops in a solid color, simple pattern, or print. The majority of options bore either a large-scale graphic, message, or some fusion of both in many cases. I was so shocked by this discovery that I felt compelled to explore the topic further.

I’ve done my share of research on client projects, but nothing compares in content or level of investigation to my interdisciplinary collaboration with sociologist Robert A. Brooks, J.D., Ph.D. Brooks is an Associate Professor in Worcester State University’s Criminal Justice Department and also happens to be my husband. Together we performed a content analysis of mass market message-bearing infant clothing. I presented our findings from this research in a paper and live presentation titled “Billboard Babies” at Chicago’s Fourth International Conference on the Image in October 2013.

The work for “Billboard Babies” is situated in the context of symbolic interactionism and the concept of gender as social construction. The latter view sees gender not as a naturally occurring phenomenon but one that is very deliberately created by society and culture. Furthermore, these roles are strongly influenced by social conventions and associated with behaviors that are generally considered ideal, appropriate, and socially acceptable for a person of that specific gender. Because the way we dress is such a palpable and powerful form of expression, infant clothing is an effective example of both symbolic interactionism and gender as social construction.

Our methods were clearly established: From August to October 2013, we conducted a purposive sampling of infant clothing sized 0–24 months from 15 major retailers’ websites. Samples had to be types of garments worn traditionally by both boys and girls (so no dresses) and which featured text/image conveying one of four coding categories — we call these “the four As:” (1) Affection (expresses emotion between child and parent), (2) Ascription (assigns attributes to

18 Fig. 8. This infographic uses the metaphor of a sound mixing board as a means of illustrating gender on the Onesies we sampled. The dials represent nine different graphic devices involving “weight” that can be used to assess whether text/image combinations are skewed more toward male (boys) or female (girls).

the child), (3) Aspiration (projects the child into the future), and (4) Attitude (gives the child an adult world view that s/he wouldn’t normally have). Overall our data set included a total of 1,789 items (2/3 of which were for boys).

We noticed early in our research that gender would become a main theme in our work. Based on the data collected, we devised a novel way of evaluating gender based on the concept of visual, physical (or literal), and conceptual weight (Fig. 8). The aspects of weight located at the bottom of the dials were prominently featured on boys’ garments, while those located at the top of the same dials were mostly reflected on girls’ clothing. This cannot be entirely accidental.

That there were differences between boys’ and girls’ clothing was not surprising, but we were alarmed by the degree to which infants are being gender-marked in the clothing industry (Figs.

19 Fig. 9 (left) and Fig. 10 (right). This pairing of a boy’s and girl’s top from our data set illustrates a clear split caused by the practice of gender marking.

9 and 10). Our findings demonstrate that there is a dramatic split between boys’ and girls’ offerings due to the ubiquitous practice of gender branding (marketing products to consumers based on socially constructed conventions of gender and gender roles). Gender branding also transfers stereotypical adult gender traits down to infants through adultification (children’s premature assumption of adult roles and attributes). Apparel manufacturers, sellers, and buyers are perpetuating gendered ideologies through practices of production and consumption. These practices are embedded in “the market-culture of childhood [which] represents a monumental accomplishment of twentieth-century capitalism (Cook, 2004, 2).

The research we conducted for “Billboard Babies” was eye-opening to me, but also upsetting and confusing. In an age of widespread technical innovation and social change, why are we still so concerned with dramatically marking gender before our kids can even crawl? And why are we in such a hurry to see them grow up?

20 In the midst of contemplating these questions, I had a breakthrough moment. A creative idea started to germinate — one that could constitute a framework for my final thesis. Dramatic life events usually follow with dramatic consequences, and this was the case for me. Looking at the predominantly heteronormative depiction of family and identity on Onesies made me want to challenge the status quo. Feeling unrepresented, I had a growing desire to tell the unique story of our “alternative” family by creating my own line of Onesies. The details had to be ironed out, of course, but insights acquired from our work on “Billboard Babies” would prove indispensable in informing and inspiring my design choices for what would become The Onesies Project.

SECTION 5 Description of Work

5.1 Overview

To say the least, my graduate journey has been a long and winding path — full of twists, turns, and a lot of stop-and-go. Most times, the destination was unclear; other times, there was no visible end point in sight. In the end I would learn to embrace the journey, with all of the doubt and uncertainty associated with it, allowing it to lead me closer to self-discovery. There were several smaller projects along the way that contributed to the experience in a positive way, some of which are worth mentioning in some detail.

Framed as a case study, the Adoption Profile Guide (Fig. 11) and Website project shares our personal adoption story with waiting parents and provides them with inspiration and helpful suggestions on how to develop their own adoption profile. While making the profile guide, my primary objective was to convey information clearly to a specified audience — something that came naturally to me because of my years of training as a graphic designer.

21 Fig. 11. Spread from the Adoption Profile Guide, 17 x 11

Fig. 12. Detail of handmade traditional Japanese wrap for “MAX 08.08.12,” a limited edition book, 6.75 x 11 x 0.5

22 In contrast to the practical purpose of the guide, “MAX 08.08.12” (Fig. 12) is a celebration of the birth of our son and a purely autobiographical work. This book was designed and produced last Spring, and features an original poem by my husband as well as a series of ultrasound prints that progressively “emerge” from cover to end. With this piece, I intentionally wanted to move away from information sharing toward a more self-expressive approach to storytelling. Three main themes seemed to emerge naturally: fear/uncertainty, time, and origin.

Among our adoption documents, there is one that has always stood out for its politically charged content — a price chart included in a local adoption agency’s welcome packet that breaks down average adoption costs and waiting times based on race. This blatant show of racism is proof that some agencies are unapologetically catering to the biases of their clients. The social implications are astounding. Rather than sweep an uneasy topic under the rug as I had done in the past, this time I wanted to talk about it openly, so I chose to reinterpret the chart’s content in a series of infographics (Fig. 13). The price chart was my first piece with socio-political undertones.

Fig. 13. Detail of infographic depicting race, cost and wait time, 8.5 x 11

23 Fig. 14. The iconic onesie became my format of choice for the final thesis project.

5.2 Onesies

Our adoption journey fuels many of my ideas and creative pursuits these days. As a result, the majority of my current self-authored design work is more narrative and autobiographical. I know it’s a cliché, but I do see the world with different eyes. I wish to express this new viewpoint with the art I make and to keep exploring ways to honor and express my experiences with fatherhood.

The Onesies Project is a commentary on issues surrounding gay adoption and marks an evolution in scope that bridges the personal with the social. What started out as an exercise in storytelling soon became something bigger than me. Using our own experiences as raw material, I aimed to “visualize” interactions I/we had with others related to the adoption. Our research on “Billboard Babies” gave me the idea to use the Onesie format to document these interactions (Fig. 14). It also helped to drive the form and content on all the posters. I got a

24 Fig. 15. Spread from the Golden Child catalog, a companion piece to the onesie posters

lot of enjoyment out of combining illustration, typography, and messaging to produce designs that straddled the line between narrative and political work.

I use parody at both the formal and conceptual level to establish a sense of familiarity, infuse humor, and feature the element of surprise. Formally, I mimic the visual style of Onesies and tailor it to my design aesthetic. Conceptually, I rewrite content inspired by the prevailing themes and messages on contemporary infant clothing to create new meaning. In the same spirit, the Golden Child catalog (Fig. 15) was developed to elaborate on the Onesie posters and is written in parodied language that mimics actual text culled from retailers’ websites.

Throughout the course of this thesis work, my record of interactions expanded to visualizations of personal observations and feelings that address gender, race, identity, and questions about family, adoption, and parenthood itself.

25 5.3 “High Status White Baby” (Fig. 16)

From catalog: Perfect for those adoptive parents who’ve won the racial lottery. Your newborn will be tweeting your good fortune in this trophy outfit with a fun screen print, appliqué, and embroidered detail.

This first of a dozen Onesie designs expresses the surprising racial bias that exists within the adoption community. Satire appears often in The Onesies Project. Color and type contribute to the satirical jab of “High Status White Baby.” There is a disconnect between the soft atmospheric quality of the pastel blue, script type, and bird graphic, and the harsh statement that values white babies over all other races. This Onesie has a direct connection to the adoption price chart that I had worked on previously and mentioned in the above overview. To push the issue of race to the forefront, the tone-on-tone effect on most of the type helps to make the word “white” stand out. Because the Onesies spin off from conventions that people have most probably seen before, the parody may not read as parody at first, because it is layered and sometimes subtle. The viewer is encouraged to step up to the work, engage with it on a more intimate level, and linger.

5.4 “So Glad You Approve” (Fig. 17)

From catalog: Your little one will be oh-so-cheeky in this must-have wardrobe staple. Perfect for when you’re rendered speechless by comments from strangers that they support your family choice. In wintertime, pair with Baby FlashTM jacket for a quick unzip and reveal.

The idea for “So Glad You Approve” came about after an encounter with a friendly stranger at a local HomeGoods store. Once she noticed Max, she became curious about us and we all had a pleasant conversation that ended abruptly with an unsolicited “Well … I approve of that.” We assumed she meant of the adoption, but it was such an odd thing to say that it left us awe-struck and a little addled. My cheeky retort came after the fact, in the form of a Onesie. “So Glad You Approve” is a straightforward yet bold type treatment paired with a seal of approval featuring

26 a winking boy. The square sans-serif font and basic color palette serve to deliver our irreverent message in a clipped, direct and firm manner.

5.5 “Adoption with a Slant” (Fig. 18)

From catalog: Your little guy will be ready for some Ninjadventures in this fun screen print. Bold Oriental Red shouts out your non-traditional family in style. (Also available in Oriental Jade).

My son Max and I look nothing alike. Being of partial Vietnamese descent, I have dark facial features; Max is blonde, blue-eyed, and fair skinned. In “Adoption with a Slant,” I refer to my racial identity with humor through wordplay, specifically a pun. “Slant” can be a way of looking at something differently (such as an alternative family like ours). It also alludes to Asians who are referred to disparagingly as “slanty-eyed,” and since this is parody, I further propagate the stereotype by including the image of a ninja. I play with visual irony by applying Western-style typography for Eastern subject matter. The use of the color red is important. Not only is it arresting to look at, it also is steeped in rich meaning. In many Asian cultures, red is the color of good fortune and prosperity, so it is often the main color for weddings.

5.6 “Future Bully Victim?” (Fig. 19)

From catalog: She’s a wise little owl in this adorable one-piece. And you’ll have a hoot laughing off your anxiety about your little one’s potential vulnerability to homophobic teasing. (For older children, see our “Bully Victim-Help Me!” tee available in sizes 6–12).

It is common practice for parents to use clothing as a means for displaying their experiences through their children. In the case of “Future Bully Victim?,” I’m projecting my fears onto my son. There is a good chance that the issue of his having two fathers will come up in Max’s future and that he will be harassed for it. The question mark was added as my way of clinging to the

27 SO GLAD YOU Approve A baby

High 6 white status

Fig. 16. “High Status White Baby” Fig. 17. “So Glad You Approve”

Future Bully Victim

Fig. 18. “Adoption with a Slant” Fig. 19. “Future Bully Victim?”

28 hope that my boy will somehow escape this fate. The soft and muted color palette soothes but at the same time undercuts the somber nature of the topic.

5.7 “I Love My Two Fag Dads” (Fig. 20)

From catalog: He’s bound to turn some heads in this homey one-piece with hand-stitched sampler design. Perfect for avoiding the “where’s mommy?” question when he’s out and about with just one dad. (Also available without the f-word for the timid shopper).

“I Love My Two Fag Dads” is my attempt at responding to the pervasively heteronormative display of family on infant clothing by highlighting another kind of (unconventional) family. I use the “F word” (fag) pridefully, like a badge. The colors I use are a nod to my extensive print design background: I selected three of the four ink colors in four color process printing — cyan, magenta, and yellow. Aside from that, these are bright and assertive colors that read well against the deep brown of the background. The type is set in a display font that simulates the look of a (needlework) sampler using cross-stitch, a popular form of embroidery, which in turn refers to the concept of woman’s work. I seek to challenge gender norms with this and other Onesie creations.

5.8 “I’m with the Gaysian” (Fig. 21)

From catalog: Double identity is double the fun in this frisky bodysuit. Scoot around all day with your little one and let everyone in on the secret.

As with “Adoption with a Slant,” I am exploring identity, but adding sexual orientation to the mix. Apart from the design for “I Love My Two Fag Dads,” which uses a strong anti-gay slur to gain audience attention, it was never my intention to have works from The Onesies Project “scream out” to the viewer. Instead I set out to make art that speaks to social aspects of adoption in

29 a quieter and more accessible fashion. I looked for less clichéd ways of expressing my culture (animals rendered in the manga style rather than rice bowls and bamboo) and identity as a gay man (balloons instead of a rainbow flag). On one level, “I’m with the Gaysian” is a joyful scene that portrays two fun-loving critters frolicking on scooters while holding multicolored balloons. On a deeper level, the illustration and slogan bring up notions of diversity, community, pride, and acceptance.

5.9 “Papa’s [a] Little Prince[ss].” (Fig. 22)

From catalog: He’ll have a royal time sporting this limited edition “hack” of our traditional one piece. Puts papa back on the throne but with a fun twist. A great gift for every sissy dad, gay or straight.

This design is for any man (gay or straight) who has ever been called “soft,” “girly,” “sissy,” or “princess.” “Papa’s [a] Little Prince[ss].” presents a vivid example of Affection— one of four coding categories from “Billboard Babies” that expresses emotion between parent and child. The word “prince” is used here not for its literal meaning but as a term of endearment that lovingly bonds “Papa” with his son. I don’t agree with the state of affairs of the infant clothing industry nor with its systematic practice of gender marking. I show my opposition by recycling an existing slogan into a larger statement on gender roles. Yet the message also plays with the stereotyping of gay men as effeminate, thus adding some ambiguity. Is this “hack” a desired one? Or is it a compounded exercise in bias? The final proof composites both before (blue type, crown, and diamond pattern) and after or modified (red rubber stamp type) states into one layer.

5.10 “I Heart[?] Mommy” (Fig. 23)

From catalog: Keep ’em guessing with this oh-so-ambiguous slogan bodysuit. Great for dads who’ve lost touch with their birth mother or just aren’t sure about letting her in. (Also available with a Velcro’d® question mark for the truly wavering).

30 I Love My GA YS I AN two Fag Dads

Fig. 20. “I Love My Two Fag Dads” Fig. 21. “I’m with the Gaysian”

Fig. 22. “Papa’s [a] Little Prince[ss].” Fig. 23. “I Heart[?] Mommy”

31 “I Heart[?] Mommy” mimics and mocks the plethora of boys’ and girls’ tops displaying the “I Love” statement. It’s also my response to all the people we met while out-and-about asking where Mommy was. The truth is, nobody knows where Mommy is, because we’ve lost touch with Max’s birth mother. I wanted to convey this sense of uncertainty and used visual references of color-blindness tests to build the heart graphic within the Onesie’s slogan. The question mark is semi-hidden within the texture of the heart — a signifier for our absent birth mother. If we cannot find her, she and Max can never have a true relationship. Therefore, logic suggests that it would be near impossible for Max to express genuine affection for someone he doesn’t even know however much he may long to.

5.11 “Hush There’s an Elephant in the Room” (Fig. 24)

From catalog: Capture everyone’s silent anxieties in this adorable retro-style bodysuit that’s perfect for any public outing.

When our family is out in public I am aware of the stares of wonder and curiosity. Except for the few who dare to make a connection, people don’t know what to make of us most of the time, so they don’t put forth the effort to engage. They will talk about us amongst themselves, point, whisper, look away — anything but interact. “Elephant in the room” is an old English idiom for an obvious truth that is being ignored or going unaddressed. It is the perfect description for how I feel every time I enter a room of strangers with Max, although the self-consciousness is gradually subsiding as my confidence as a father grows. I thought it could be compelling to juxtapose the silent reactions of others with a more “showy” graphic. To this end, I used a Broadway-style art deco font, a playful script, graphic banners, and a bright background color to produce a layout that has the look and feel of a show announcement.

32 5.12 “Stop Asking … Wasn’t Cheap.” (Fig. 25)

From catalog: Put those intrusive questions down for a nap with this playful striped one-piece. Part of our exclusive Not a CommodityTM line of branded merchandise.

With “Stop Asking … Wasn’t Cheap,” I am reacting to those who thought it appropriate to ask me “how much I spent on the baby,” or “where I got him.” That aside, I also talk about the added financial burden of adopting. In the process of drawing the bar code and pairing it with type I made a fortuitous discovery. The bar code could also read as an abstraction of a crib. The first iterations of this piece did not have a mobile. I was happy with the concept, but adding the mobile helped to soften the crib, brighten the layout, and made for a better fit with the other posters.

5.13 “Too Old Too Gay Too Broke Too Bad.” (Fig. 26)

From catalog: He’ll toy around with the naysayers in this perky color-block bodysuit. Perfect for middle-age parents who’ve drained their IRAs and traded retirement for fatherhood.

When my husband and I decided to sign with a local adoption agency to initiate the search for a birth mother match, I wanted to share the news with my mother. She is a person I call when I go through any life event, so I thought the news would be well received. I was gravely wrong. Formerly a strong supporter, she was dead set against my decision to start a family. The conversation that ensued was one of the most hurtful that I have ever exchanged with my mother. Her words filled me with self-doubt, anxiety, and most of all, disappointment that someone so close to me wasn’t on board with what would become one of the most important decisions of my life. The gist of her reaction to my happy news is in the title itself; “Too Bad” is my retort. To offset a negative back story, I paired the text with iconic illustrations of happy childhood memories.

33 Stop asking ... Wasn't cheap.

Fig. 24. “Hush There’s an Elephant in the Room” Fig. 25. “Stop Asking … Wasn’t Cheap.”

Too old Too gay

Too broke Too bad.

Fig. 26. “Too Old Too Gay Too Broke Too Bad.” Fig. 27. “M.V.B. Most Valuable Baby”

34 5.14 “M.V.B. Most Valuable Baby” (Fig. 27)

From catalog: Now that you’ve drafted your free agent, put him in a vintage-style graphic bodysuit with athletic stripes and number appliqué. Even if he doesn’t empty the bleachers, he’s already emptied your wallet.

We saw a lot of sports-themed clothing during our research and I wanted to take a stab at making my own in the form of a Onesie. Inspired by MVP (Most Valuable Player) sports jerseys, and similar to the “MAX 08.08.12” book made in Spring 2012, “M.V.B. Most Valuable Baby” is a celebration of Max’s birth and life. The value I mention in the slogan is not monetary, it is qualitative and sentimental: My son is the greatest gift I could receive during my lifetime, and has become one of the most important people in my life. However, it could be read that way — all the posters have some ambiguous readings. The prominent number “12” is short for “2012,” the year he was born. In the context of sports, the stork serves as mascot. The stork is also generally known as a symbol of fertility and birth. I settled on orange as a main color, as my image research revealed orange as a recurring color in sports clothing and memorabilia.

SECTION 6 Conclusion

My graduate studies at UMass Dartmouth have been an essential step in my professional and artistic evolution. I’ve transitioned from an accomplished corporate designer, whose primary objective is to communicate a directed message, to an emerging self-authored designer who has a thirst for connection through self-expression. The MFA program exposed me to a variety of new subjects and a community of like-minded artists and designers from home and abroad. In getting to know this community better, I’ve discovered that I have a unique world view as a visual artist that separates itself from the client-driven motivations of the typical designer. Taking advantage of the

35 program’s multidisciplinary model, I learned about new tools, media, processes and techniques, to hone my craft and expand the scope of my visual dialogue. In addition to enriching my portfolio of work, a sharpened aptitude for theoretical and critical thinking informs my teaching practice, strengthens my resolve to pursue teaching, and inspires me to remain a lifelong learner.

Being in a comfortable long-term career makes it easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. We become complacent. My recent immersive exposure to new literature, artists, and points of view have enlightened me. I have become more critical of the world and I want to question everything. My direct experiences with adoption have made me more curious about human interaction and relationships. I enjoy reading about social theory and exploring research methods to generate ideas for new work. By embracing a broader outlook on the role I play, I practice what I preach to my students, by making art that serves the greater good.

The topic of infant clothing has been considered from the viewpoint of consumption and gender, but never from a purely visual analysis approach. The Onesies Project features one-of-a-kind designs of text/image combinations to critique social prejudice (and gender branding). As a self- authored designer my motivation is to emote, inspire, and share something that’s uniquely mine with the world, allowing each viewer to find their own interpretation. With no precedents on this subject matter as reference, I was not tethered to any pre-conceived notions of how to execute.

Through The Onesies Project, I am commenting on larger socio-political issues in order to affect social change. My client work is intended for various larger audiences and produced for general public consumption. My thesis work communicates on a more intimate level. Because of that, I wish for people to experience it in person, probably in a gallery setting. On the other hand, I am also critiquing more general aspects of the adoption world that are rarely discussed because they are uncomfortable. In the interest of reaching more people and increasing social awareness, I could achieve this end goal alternatively through means of digital media, like a website.

I am motivated to make socially conscious art and apply mindful practice to everything I do. I’ve enjoyed creating art that is about my recent experiences with adoption, my son Max, and

36 fatherhood. I have more to say on these matters, and there are adoption-related projects in progress that address the main themes of race, identity, gender, and family. Autobiography is important in my work because it allows me a direct connection to what I make, so I will probably continue in this vein. Additionally, I enjoy the ambiguity of parody and its potential for open- ended interpretations. Making use of my training as a designer, I am interested in developing projects that bridge the gap between the design and art worlds, and am open to other media for expressing my ideas — textiles, books, interactive, and video, to name a few. At the root of it all is a keen sensitivity to how people make value judgements and how we create hierarchy.

My graduate journey has been a thrilling experience and a highly volatile process, through which I have grown into a better designer, artist, and critical thinker. For me, process has always been more compelling than end product, but it’s subject matter that drives me to make images in my new work, and therefore influences the process. The subject matter may serve to criticize, honor, or both. My capacity to translate the topic successfully into visualizations that are poignant and accessible marks a breakthrough in my design practice and exemplifies some of my strongest work to date. I welcome more opportunities to generate and manage my own content. Unlike client work, my self-authored design pieces do not require a specific interpretation, and their success is not determined by a measurable outcome. In fact, it’s the uncertainty of the audience’s emotional response to them, and my intrinsic longing to connect and enlighten, that ultimately drive me onward and upward.

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