cosmosis
branding / screen printing / exhibition
Cosmosis is a clothing brand I created for my senior exhibition at the University of Minnesota. The designs are screen printed by hand and inspired out of love for the 90s rave scene. I first created the identity for Cosmosis, then made/printed shirt & tote designs, hang tags, info cards, and zines.
I additionally curated a physical pop-up shop experience that was a part of the graphic design senior class exhibition on display in the Goldstein Museum of Design HGA Gallery in Rapson Hall from May 3rd - May 11th, 2022. During the reception, I sold almost all my pieces; it was an extremely exciting and rewarding finale of my college years!
background
In 2021, I picked up a book on British rave flyers from the 1990s and was immediately captivated by the unapologetically bold and experimental spirit behind them. After researching more, my obsession with them grew, so much that I wrote my senior thesis on the history of rave culture and design.
Taking my knowledge and inspiration from my thesis topic, I created a clothing brand in 2022 for my graphic design senior exhibition at the University of Minnesota.
It has been a dream of mine to create graphic t-shirts ever since I decided to pursue graphic design four years ago. It’s actually what interested me in graphic design in the first place, which is fitting that it turned into my senior exhibition!
the name
Cosmosis is inspired by the names of past raves which often followed themes of space, unity, and utopia like “Paradise” “Elevation” “Superlove” and others.
It's a portmanteau of cosmos, “the universe seen as a well ordered whole,” and osmosis, which outside of its typical biology context is defined as “the process of gradual or unconscious assimilation of ideas, knowledge, etc.”
The rave movement wasn’t an organized political movement with specific goals. Instead, it was a utopian escape from mundane life, about shared intimacy with strangers under an environment based on acceptance, connection, and of course music. Therefore, Cosmosis is the perfect name to capture the fluid, collaborative, and positive nature of rave culture.
size and care tag
clothing hang tags
ephemeral bodies design
Rave flyers served as both ephemera and art. They were advertisements, but also tickets to the raves. Receipts, newspapers, and stickers are other objects that are ephemera and hold so much history that can get buried in the past. One could say we’re all ephemeral in a sense, and while that is a scary thought, it doesn’t have to be. We all will fade away eventually, along with our things and memories. But it doesn’t mean that all we do is for nothing.
Whether it’s short or long lasting, the connections we have with others is one of the few important things in life. In rave culture and design, a strong focus on connection and optimism emerged at the forefront of the scene, and although the raves were just an escape from reality for a night, it meant so much more to those that attended.
The first drop by cosmosis, “ephemeral bodies”, combines the uplifting essence of rave culture and design with the concept of us all being transient.
double sided tote bags
ephemeral bodies screen printed art
rave zine
I created an accompanying zine printed on a risograph machine, which basically combines the aesthetic of screen printing (from the layering of ink) and the efficiency of a laser printer. Its signature vibrant ink colors complement rave design aesthetics.
The zine contains a summarized version of my senior thesis written on rave culture and design in the 1990's. It gives a historical context to my exhibition to show what inspired me to make Cosmosis in the first place.
