Designing Beyond Merit
Jamie Fu
This thesis examines how meritocratic ideals shape anxiety and self-worth in design education. Through auto-ethnography, interdisciplinary research, comparative case studies, and interviews with students and educators, it investigates how studio critique, grading, and peer comparison turn “talent” and “effort” into moralized measures of value. Focusing on design school as a site where evaluation becomes both cultural and emotional, the project identifies how these systems validate some students while pushing others toward self-blame. The thesis proposes speculative, testable interventions—alternative critique formats, reframed rubrics, and communication tools—to shift classrooms from sorting students to supporting them.
SYSTEM OF RANKS: A SCHOOL SEEN AS AN ARMY
System of Ranks uses military hierarchy to critique meritocracy in art education. By assigning students fictional embroidered ranks based on academic data, and positioning the professor as the sole officer, the project turns the classroom into a temporary regiment. This staged hierarchy exposes how schools reduce complex individuals into comparable symbols of value.
SYSTEM OF RANKS: A SCHOOL SEEN AS AN ARMY
SYSTEM OF RANKS: A SCHOOL SEEN AS AN ARMY
SYSTEM OF RANKS: A SCHOOL SEEN AS AN ARMY
SYSTEM OF RANKS: A SCHOOL SEEN AS AN ARMY
The Body Map of Success
The Body Map of Success is a participatory probe that invites gym members to track training through stickers, body maps, and reflections. By visualizing effort, mood, sleep, and environment, the project moves beyond numbers and comparison. It reframes success as personal, emotional, and embodied—not just measurable performance.
The Body Map of Success
The Body Map of Success
The Body Map of Success
