anchoring me in this world

if all is fleeting in the end

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Pratt Thesis 2025

Abstract

(a)
This thesis investigates how individuals construct and perceive space by using themselves as a reference point¹.

Through mapping practices and spatial experiments, I seek to question and strip away default assumptions of space — from digital design tools to the blank page — in order to explore how space is generated within constrained media. By reframing space as a subjective and constructed experience, this work proposes alternative ways of seeing, representing, and inhabiting spatial environments.

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1. in an egocentric reference frame

, the locations of objects are coded in relation to the observer.

(b)
This thesis is a wrapping of my four years at Pratt — a reflection on my practice, a way to understand myself, and a map of me.

Thesis Proposal

What

How

Why

➜This thesis explores how individuals construct space through egocentric reference frames, treating space not as fixed, but as a perceptual and cognitive experience.

➜ By fabricating spatial experiences within constrained media, this thesis seeks to shape and guide how the viewer perceives and engages with the concept of space.

➜ By disrupting default assumptions about space, this thesis aims to reveal how perception constructs reality—and how design can intervene in that construction.

Research

I was inspired by a lot, this is just a small part of what really influenced me along the way.

[More]

01. Afterword: Blaming, Shaming, and the Feminization of Social Media

Lisa Nakamura, 2015

The first reading I encountered at the start of this thesis introduced the term “electronic bodies,” which first caught my attention and sparked an exploration into bodily experience.

02. The Production of Space

Henri Lefebvre, 1974

This was the reading that truly set the course for my thesis. Lefebvre’s spatial triad became the backbone of my theoretical framework.

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03. Else/Where: Mapping New Cartographies of Networks and Territories

Janet Abrams (Editor), Peter Hall (Editor), 2006

A collection of writings and artworks offered diverse insights that expanded my understanding of the topic.

04. The Unseen Architecture: Exploring the Human Experience Through Built Spaces

Bahram Hooshyar Yousefi, 2023

An overview of the phenomenological approach to architecture, focusing on how the taken-for-granted aspects of space subtly shape our everyday lives.

05. The Poetics of Space

Gaston Bachelard, 1958

A delicately poetic work that explores how human beings experience and inhabit space from within—emotionally, physically, and sensorially.

Final Deliverables

01. space & (body)

Pencil on paper, Procreate, p5.js
Captured via screenshot on macOS Ventura 13.1

I focused on my bodily experience while following an NSDR practice

. Using the body scan technique, I directed my attention intentionally to different parts of my body.

I aim to recreate that multisensory experience through a non-linear narrative.

02. space & (map)

Illustrator
Printed on Vellum
17" × 13"

I’ve never considered myself someone with a strong sense of direction. A place/route to me is always shifting: day/night, sunny/raining.

I think back to the path I walked almost every day from my apartment to the Pratt studios.

What do I usually notice?

“On Saturday evenings,” wrote opium-eater and peripatetic Thomas de Quincey, “I have had the custom, after taking my opium, of wandering quite far, without worrying about the route or the distance.”

02.

The map was first created in Illustrator, where the canvas itself imposed limits on what could be framed or left out. Its placement echoed both direction and perceived physical location.

This relationship between digital boundaries and spatial perception was later carried into and explored through physical media.

Photograph by Hannah Zhang
Canon EOS R8 with RF50mm F1.8 STM lens

Fujifilm QuickSnap Flash 400

03. u can find me on a b5 paper

Illustrator
Printed on Tyvek
176 x 250 mm

Typeface featured:
Adobe 宋体 Std L, 小塚ゴシック Pr6N R, 苹方-简, Comic Sans MS, Mundial Narrow Variable, 思源黑体 CN

It was a weird moment when I suddenly thought about what you can do with a piece of paper—and that’s what this is about.

The paper is a territory; the boundary is its limit.

This was a fun project to make. I enjoyed being a nice host and offering weird stuff to anyone reading—and thus living in the space with me, even just for a short moment.

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Printed on Heavyweight Coated Paper
33" × 47 3/4"

Photograph by Hannah Zhang
Canon EOS R8 with RF50mm F1.8 STM lens

It was b5, until I decided to print it on a giant sheet.

04. this is how you see the world

Illustrator
Printed on rice paper, stored in a handmade archival box
216 x 303 mm

A series of posters exploring how simple lines and shades can evoke a sense of space.

Left to Right
The Sundial, The Sea, The Window
The Peephole, The Unseen, The Fog

04.
Printed on Acetate
3 3/4" x 3"

Also translated into cards, transparency did what it was meant to do.

The Sundial

05. if all is fleeting in the end

Pen on paper, Photoshop, InDesign
Printed on Vellum
Screw-bound

Typeface featured:
Adobe 寒蝉活楷体, Alegreya

if all Is fleeting in the end is a documentation of my journals since the beginning of this thesis.

You have to read it against the light. This creates a sense of privacy—and, true to the title, reflects what is ultimately meant to fade.

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if u like my work, or not, don’t hesitate to reach out...

Contact

Phone
Email
Social

213.575.8450
hi.ez.work@gmail.com
@ez_hua

anchoring me in this world

Colophon

Written & Visual Content:

Eileen Xuan Zhang

Design & Web:
Eileen Xuan Zhang

Typeset in:
Satoshi, Marist

Photography (where noted):
Hannah Zhang

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to my thesis advisors, Allen and Glen—thank you both for your incredible support. You can’t imagine how much your affirmation has meant to me.

A special thanks to Hannah, a wonderful designer and an even better friend, for 陪我一起做设计. You are the best photographer I know.

Thanks to Michael, my professors, and peers who offered thoughtful feedback and suggestions throughout this journey.

To both of my thesis classes—thank you for continually making beautiful work and for constantly inspiring me to keep creating.

And lastly, thanks to myself, for completing this thesis as a closing chapter to four years of college.

© Eileen Xuan Zhang, 2025. All rights reserved.