KELSEY IGE

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Ke Kani o ke Kai: The Sound of the Ocean, is The Waikīkī Aquarium’s annual summer concert series that raises funds for future exhibits and projects within the Aquarium. Each year, thousands of visitors, both local and non-local, enjoy Hawaiian music on the Aquarium lawn. This year the visual and design theme was based on classic Hawaiian music record covers. I have been listening to Hawaiian music and dancing hula since I was very young, I wanted the design to evoke a sense of nostalgia, so (concert collateral) recipients could reminisce on times past that they have enjoyed with music.

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As a final project for a Tahitian language class, I compiled an ‘ā’ai (traditional Tahitian legend or tale) into a short book-form. The story is told in Reo Tahiti (Tahitian language), ‘Olelo Hawai’i (Hawaiian language), as well as in English. This legend, entitled, “Te ‘Ā’ai nō Nā ‘Ōfa’i Tere: The Legend of the Two Travelling Stones” speaks of twin-heroes and their sister who are sent on a quest to the island of Mo’orea to steal the mountain, ‘Opunohu, in order to make the island of Havai’i (current day Ra’iatea) greater and the events that ensue. I designed, illustrated and bound a set of books, one for each of my Reo Tahiti classmates. The language portion was a collaborative effort between myself and Daniel Palikū Maile.

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2010 :: DIGITAL PRINT ON PAPER, IDENTITY SYSTEM: HAWAI’I NATURE CENTER

The Hawai’i Nature Center is a non-profit organization that promotes stewardship and introduces nature to children. The new identity is based on the idea that nature can be found everywhere. Nature radiates throughout our everyday environments. We designed and integrated the Hawaii Nature Center’s website, stationery, donor gifts, educational material into one cohesive system that uses a series of multifunctional templates. This project was a collaborative effort between myself and designers Michelle Carino and Jennifer Garcia.

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2009 :: DIGITAL PRINT ON PAPER, SCREWPOST BOUND BOOKFORM

This project was based on the ideas of Place and Space as discussed by Michel Decerteau. My site was Downtown Honolulu. Each book had a different focus; one focused on ideas of regulation and the other focused on ideas of exchange. The book discussing regulation places emphasis on the verticality of the text; noting that regulation takes place on different (vertical) levels. The book discussing exchange places emphasis on the horizontality of the text; noting that exchange, in Downtown Honolulu, happens on same levels.

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2009 :: DIGITAL PRINT ON FABRIC, HAND-SEWN

This project was based on the entrepreneurial aspect of design. It is an ongoing project in which I have begun designing particular textile prints relating to a theme of a given series. The inaugural theme is based on the eight Hawaiian islands and they’re designated “island” plants. The project title, “Locally Grown,” is based on the diverse identities of the people of Hawai’i. For the island series, I wanted to pay homage to the variations of culture on each island. Each hat is digitally printed and hand-sewn.

2009 :: FLASH INTERACTIVE WEBSITE

CLICK TO VIEW SITE :: RELATIVE STABILITY

For this project, I interviewed Fred Lara, a family friend and Kung Fu Grandmaster who practices massage therapy as learned through the internal healing aspect of Kung Fu. Through my interviews with Fred, I learned the importance of balance, this idea became the inspiration of the entire Flash website. The idea reflected on the saying, “the body is a temple,” so each subheading referred to typical architectural ideas and related each idea to a given system in the human body.

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2009 :: DIGITAL PRINT ON RED EARTH DYED FABRIC, HAND-SEWN

This project was inspired by the idea of ‘packaging an experience.’ The experience I chose was ‘growing up local.’ The term ‘ehu, refers to a reddish tinge in hair, when one is exposed to long periods of sun and salt water. It also means, wispy and difficult to see. I chose to use a reversible bag format representing the stereotypical “local girl” persona as well as stereotypical adornments or physical features (on the outside of the bag) and the idea of nostalgia and personal inflections about local culture (on the inside of the bag). The bag was completely dyed with red earth, from my home, before printing. This is definitely my favorite project. Through this project, I realized how important my cultural background is to me and its influence on my perspective(s) as well as my work.

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2009 :: FLASH INTERACTIVE SITE

CLICK TO VIEW SITE :: SWISS INTERNATIONAL DESIGN

This project is a culmination of research on the Swiss Design Movement of the 20th century. It is an interactive Flash animation that discusses the history, theories, key figures and influences of the design movement. I implemented many stylistic qualities developed during the period for emphasis. This project was my first attempt at Flash animation.

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2009 :: DIGITAL PRINT ON PAPER, ACCORDION FOLDED BOOKFORM

This project integrated text from ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’ by Walter Benjamin. The concept for this book was based on the idea of the authentic original and the inauthenticity of reproductions. Integrated throughout the book are selected indexical texts that further promote the idea of authenticity v. inauthenticity.

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2009 :: DIGITAL PRINT ON PAPER

This project was based on the idea of an alternate outcome for a given country. I chose to focus on the idea of Hawai‘i as a sovereign nation. I designed two different bills, both focus on traditional practices that may have been reestablished sooner (or would not have been abolished), if the monarchy had still been established. One bill focuses on hula; integrating key figures such as ‘Iolani Luahine and John Hohopa. The other bill focuses on the Hawaiian martial art of Lua; highlighting Kamehameha I, who was known to be a great Lua practitioner.