Unbounded Umwelt
Yiran Ma
"Umwelt" encapsulates the unique perceptual world of each species, actively shaped through continuous interaction with
their environment. In the natural world, umwelts intertwine, influenced by cross-kingdom communications. However, humans
instinctively remain detached from nature, unable to receive the chemical information emitted by plants, animals, and
fungi due to sensory limitations.
Modern hoarding, characterized by the irrational accumulation of material products, has become a prevalent social
phenomenon. As society increasingly hoards industrial goods, our relationship with the planet shifts. This thesis
explores the tension between the natural and material worlds, creating an expanded umwelt for "modern hoarders", in
which they can receive messages from nature.
Book Design: Unbounded Umwelt
Type Design
The font is designed using a grid system created based on humans’ current relationship with nature driven by capitalist forces in the material world.
Type in Use
Unbounded Umwelt: The Letter from Fungi
Unbounded Umwelt: Research & Design Methodologies
Unbounded Umwelt
Unbounded Umwelt: Hoarding
Unbounded Umwelt: Mycelium & The Grid
Sculptures of Fungi
By growing mycelium and making bioplastics, I made a set of fungi sculptures, which become the objects that people communicate with through the designed typeface.