In May of 2025, I got the opportunity to take part in a short-term Study Abroad program in Japan, along with 9 of my classmates. The program lasted two weeks, and we visited four cities in Japan, Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Tokyo, along with a short stop in Honolulu, Hawaii, for a 24-hour layover. This program allowed us to experience design in Japan firsthand and develop a new appreciation for design as a whole.
Before leaving for Japan, we were tasked with creating gifts to bring that represent our hometown, or Rhode Island. I chose to design two Bristol, RI postcards, one featuring the Bristol Ferry Lighthouse, and the other featuring Rhode Island’s state flower, the Blue Violet.
The act of gift giving is known as omiyage (お土産) in Japanese. Gift giving is very prominent in Japanese culture, as it is a sign of appreciation for others.
Final Project
For my final project for this class, I wanted to create a digital scrapbook inspired by junk journaling, which is a type of journaling using items that could be considered “junk”, such as receipts, wrappers, tickets, etc. I wanted to combine these “junk” elements with my photography, illustrations, and stamps that we had collected throughout Japan. I saved most of my receipts and packaging from things I had bought, and certain elements from these items I then took pictures of and image-traced to use in my scrapbook.