n–close_e–merge — avantikawu

Avantika Wu
Graphic Designer

Work
N–close E–merge
MFA Thesis

Mistify
Branding/Packaging/Business strategy

Between Being & Nothingness
Book design/Exhibition

Mid–Autumn Festival
Event/Visual identity

Nexis
Font design

Robert Frank Framing Dialogue
Exhibition/Visual identity

Instagram

In 2006, legal scholar Cass Sunstein introduced the term “information cocoon” to describe a condition where individuals, through both personal choices and algorithmic filters, become surrounded by information that reinforces their existing beliefs. In the context of graphic design, this manifests in subtle but powerful ways: designers unconsciously repeat visual trends, stay within familiar stylistic systems, and consume inspiration from limited sources. Over time, what feels like “intuition” or “taste” may simply be the shape of what they’ve been shown most.

This thesis explores how these cocoons form and influence design thinking, especially within the context of design education. The goal is not to condemn them, but to help designers recognize their own boundaries–understand what has shaped their perspective–and identify ways to break out of creative loops. By mapping the structure of these cocoons, this project provides a tool for reflection, prompting a shift from passive repetition to intentional authorship.

Four dominant types of information cocoons that commonly shape the practice of graphic design students: Academic, Market-Driven, Environmental, and Cross-Disciplinary. Each cocoon is visualized as a unique geometric shape, encapsulating how designers think, create, and respond.

By treating each cocoon as a structure with internal layers, explore how designers are formed by these enclosed systems. Through visual deconstruction and reconfiguration of each cocoon's shape, analyze how these structures reinforce certain habits, while also proposing pathways for critical reflection and transformation.

Part one: Board Game–Loop Out

Loop Out is a playful tool for self-reflection. Players take on one of four common design student cocoons and move through the board by chance and choice. Each prompt reveals patterns in how they think and create. The goal isn’t to win, but to recognize where you are, how you got there, and how to shift beyond it. The game makes hidden creative habits visible and breakable.

Part two: Cocoon book–Design in the age of Cocoons

Design in the age of Cocoons is a visual and analytical guide that maps out how information cocoons subtly shape the mindset and methods of graphic design students. It breaks down four key cocoon types, and each dissected into layered structures and 12 variations, revealing how designers get trapped, how they benefit, and where blind spots form. The purpose is not to criticize any specific path, but to build awareness: helping readers recognize their own positioning and consider new directions. Through a mix of form analysis, diagram systems, and reflective writing, the book gives students a framework to rethink their design instincts and grow beyond what feels familiar.

The cocoon book provides the audience with a systematic and in-depth information architecture, which is the understanding mechanism. The board game transforms the structure in the book into a "perceivable and participatory experience", providing the audience with a platform to identify the cocoon, which is the feeling mechanism. They complement each other.