Serving Zodiacs
Dish by Design: Psychology, Style, and Storytelling
For this project, I created two original illustrations designed for application on dinner plates. The direction was guided by in-depth research into color psychology, shape language, and stylistic choices aligned with a specific target audience. I also conducted a competitive analysis to ensure the final designs met industry standards and market expectations. Each plate design was conceptually tied to a central theme, informing both the visual language and overall creative approach.
Exploration
Tides of Pisces
As a Pisces—both my zodiac and moon sign—I sought to approach this design through a more nuanced and symbolic lens. Rather than depicting the typical ethereal or idealized aquatic imagery often associated with Pisces, I turned my focus toward the imperfect, overlooked species of marine life. These serve as visual metaphors for complexity, resilience, and emotional depth.
Traditionally, Pisces is a water sign known for its creativity, empathy, and intuitive nature. Represented by two fish swimming in opposite directions, the sign reflects an internal tension between reality and fantasy. In this work, I wanted to explore that duality not through escapism, but through grounded symbolism—acknowledging the emotional labor and strength required to navigate the modern world as a deeply feeling individual.
By embracing the darker, more resilient side of Pisces, this design celebrates the capacity to endure, adapt, and evolve. It underscores that empathy and softness, while often seen as vulnerabilities, can also be sources of profound strength and creative power.
Dual Currents: Designing the Pisces Archetype
As both my zodiac and moon sign, Pisces served as the conceptual anchor for this design exploration. Departing from the typical dreamlike depictions, I focused on imperfect and predatory marine species as symbolic representations of emotional complexity, vulnerability, and survival. The Pisces archetype—two fish swimming in opposition—reflects a tension between reality and illusion. Here, that duality is reinterpreted through a lens of resilience and adaptability, emphasizing the strength found in sensitivity and the instinctual navigation of harsh environments.
The central figure is submerged within this aquatic world, merging with marine forms that evoke the feminine body—symbols of creation, intuition, and transformation. This interplay reflects the generative power of the Pisces identity, drawing parallels to motherhood and the act of design itself: to shape, nurture, and bring forth new life amidst shifting emotional and symbolic currents.
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This design challenges the traditional, dreamlike portrayals of Pisces by embracing imperfect and predatory marine species—symbols of emotional depth, duality, and survival.
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The opposing fish of Pisces represent the tension between reality and fantasy. This duality is reframed through a lens of strength in sensitivity and adaptability in the face of adversity.
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The submerged figure merges with aquatic forms that echo the feminine body—invoking themes of intuition, creation, and the generative power linked to both motherhood and design.
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Rather than viewing empathy and softness as weakness, the work positions them as powerful tools for navigating complexity—revealing their role in shaping and sustaining meaningful design.