PROJECT OVERVIEW
This project dives into the stickers you spot all over town. those little overlooked pieces of everyday chatter. Even though they’re everywhere, they kind of fade into the background because we’re so used to seeing them. By gathering and checking out these stickers, I’m digging into how these informal, unregulated designs show off identity, ownership, resistance, and belonging in public spaces.
Why This Project?
I picked this project because stickers were one of those everyday things I used to just walk past without a second thought. Once I started noticing them, I realized they create a hidden layer of communication around town, little casual signals that build identity, mark territory, share opinions, and leave traces of different communities.
It felt personal because it totally changed how I see my surroundings. Instead of just ignoring them as visual noise, I started seeing them as intentional pieces shaped by place, repetition, wear, and context. This project helped me practice curiosity as a design skill, slowing down, looking more closely, and understanding how public spaces are always being redesigned through tiny tweaks.
What makes stickers Invisible?
- They blend into the background because of repetition
- People often dismiss them as just vandalism or clutter
- Their messages are like secret codes meant for specific audiences
- Wear and layers make them tougher to read but packed with meaning
How do these artefacts communicate?
These artifacts get their message across by where they're placed, how often you see them, and how familiar they become, rather than just telling you straight up. Stickers, for example, find their homes on things we pass by every day, like street signs, poles, and bins. So we kind of take in their messages without even realizing it. As they layer up, wear down, or come in different sizes, they tell us about their popularity, resistance, or age. The style and language they use speak more to specific groups than to everyone. Their meaning sneaks up on you, becoming part of the scenery rather than shouting for attention.
Who produces and consumes their signals?
These signals come from all sorts of folks and groups, like local artists, activists, small business owners, subcultures, and community members, who use stickers as a cheap and easy way to make their mark in public spaces. Mostly, they're meant for people who regularly hang out in those areas and get the visual lingo or cultural shout-outs. But even people just passing by pick up on them, maybe without realizing it, adding to the town's visual vibe.
The final output of this project is a short video documentary that visually captures stickers found around my town as overlooked forms of everyday communication. The video brings together a series of observational shots, moving between wide contextual views and close-ups, to highlight how stickers blend into the urban environment while quietly shaping its visual language.
By using video rather than static imagery, the output reflects the act of passing by, mirroring how these signals are usually encountered and ignored in real life. Repetition, layering, and wear are emphasised to show how meaning accumulates over time. The documentary reframes stickers not as visual noise or vandalism, but as informal design artefacts that communicate identity, belonging, resistance, and presence within public space.
This output makes the invisible visible by slowing down observation and encouraging the viewer to notice details they would normally overlook, aligning with the aims of the project and the broader theme of everyday interaction design.
OUTPUT
