Torn
Editorial Design, Informational Design
Torn is a three-part editorial series that uses discursive design to explore Maasai culture, history, and social challenges. The project initiates a conversation around ending harmful practices toward women and girls while advocating for cultural preservation through education and community-led change.
Awards:
DesCan Jim Rimmer Scholarship Winner 2024
The project uses design methods to research and highlight issues such as female genital mutilation, early marriage, and limited access to education, while balancing this with respect for cultural heritage. By combining visual research, material contrast, and discursive design, Torn encourages meaningful conversations and community-led advocacy. Each book takes a distinct visual and conceptual approach to deepen understanding and support social transformation.
Each book becomes less tightly bound, symbolizing a Maasai child’s progression through harmful practices.
One volume incorporates community participation, where individuals illustrated what they imagine the pain of FGM feels like. These drawings were printed and layered on vellum, creating a haunting, translucent effect that echoes the weight of the issue.
Research is visualized through infographics, often paired with hand-drawn type to add a human quality to the data. Printed on red paper to symbolize pain, the final book addresses child marriage through punched-out text, a haunting poem, and a bow-tied binding — a stark reference to girls exchanged as “gifts.”
