Design Series
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Design Series 〰️
El Fu-Toro
2025, Graphic Design + Illustration
2-Semester Senior Thesis Project
Concept
This body of work explores the use of the bull symbol in Spain to define national identity, values, and global perception of the country.
They take the form of a series of travel posters, putting the viewer in the role of a potential tourist, as they analyze these representations of Spain and consider their preconceived notions about the country and where those ideas might have originated.
Bulls are often associated with Spain by outsiders due to the practice of bull-fighting, but as the popularity of the sport fades within the country and cultural regions continue to speak up about the erasure of their unique identities, perhaps the bull icon needs a shift in significance to better represent all citizens.
Process
This project took many different forms in its development to the final series it is today. When I began designing this project, I was very focused on making each piece stylistically different and keeping a chronological progression through the series, but this rigid thinking ultimately kept the series stifled. Eventually I realized these works were in conversation with each other, requiring an organization that allowed these pieces to interact with eachother. This brought about the “opposing sides” and designs that shared similarities with their opposites. These posters use minimalistic imagery and bold colors to catch a viewer’s eye, but are visually legible to as many viewers as possible using semiotics. They fulfill the role of “real” travel posters while also encouraging reflection on how the bull is usually depicted as a representation of Spain versus how it “should” be depicted.
Additionally, the “original project” was actually not a poster series at all. Upholding Bull is a multimedia sculpture that uses comparisons between women and bulls to denounce the mistreatment of both groups in modern-day Spain, despite the global push for equality and humane treatment of animals. After realizing there was much more I wanted to explore about the use of the bull symbol and bullfighting, I decided to pivot my project into a poster series where I could communicate more ideas through a more explicit visual language.
Final Exhibition
Whiplash: 2025 Spring Senior Thesis Exhibition
Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery
