addis barge
graphic design, curation, cultural storyteller


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Cornrow Cartography 

Exhibition Design, Generative Coding

Also see California African American Museum
Cornrow Cartography is a research-driven exhibition and archive developed for the Ancestral Tech Archive at the California African American Museum.

The project reframes cornrows as a form of navigational and cultural technology — positioning braiding practices as systems of mapping, memory, and transmission.

Exhibition & Installation


The exhibition translates this research into an immersive spatial experience. Through installation, typography, and material exploration, Cornrow Cartography asks:

How can ancestral technologies guide how we navigate the present and future?

Visitors encounter cornrows not only as aesthetic tradition, but as encoded systems of knowledge — structures that organize movement, geography, and identity. 



Archive Development

The Ancestral Tech Archive expanded the museum’s framework by situating cornrows within a broader lineage of cultural technologies.

From this research emerged a typographic system inspired by braided structures — text that bends, expands, and weaves, mimicking the logic of cornrow patterns while extending beyond them.

Generative Typography

Using p5.js
To further explore cornrows as abstract mapping systems, I developed a generative typography tool using p5.js.

The Cornrow Cartography Generator allows users to construct digital braid patterns that function as speculative maps — interactive compositions that translate cultural form into coded structure.

Through this process, hair becomes both archive and interface.

p5.js Process 



This project expanded my practice beyond traditional 2D design into spatial and computational media.

Working with p5.js and Processing, I developed custom code that enabled users to generate their own cartographic braid systems — merging research, design, and interaction.


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Hood Century

Visual Identity 
Hood Century is a speculative identity project developed in response to the preservation movement founded by Jerald Cooper.

The work explores the intersection of modern architecture and Black cultural identity, translating the concept of “Black modernism” into a distinct visual system.

This project is an independent interpretation — reimagining how Hood Century could be expressed through identity, spatial design, and visual language.



Defining A System

The identity system draws from architectural forms, historical references, and contemporary cultural expression.

Typography and color operate as structural elements — referencing the geometry of modernist architecture while carrying the rhythm, attitude, and visual language of Black culture.

The result is a system that moves fluidly between built form and cultural expression.

Visual Language Development

The visual language is grounded in familiarity — drawing from the textures, symbols, and references embedded within urban environments.

By merging influences from rap culture, architecture, and community spaces, the system reflects a perspective that is both contemporary and deeply rooted.

Rather than imposing a new identity, the work amplifies an existing one.


Exhibition & Spatial Design

The identity extends into a speculative exhibition concept situated in Leimert Park, Los Angeles, translating the visual system into a spatial experience.

Through scale, color, and placement, the exhibition explores how “Black modernism” can be encountered physically — positioning identity as immersive, not just visual.

The exhibition curates stories of local Black communities alongside archival materials and cultural references, reinforcing the importance of preserving and expanding the history of Black modernism.


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California African American Museum
Identity System
This project reimagines the visual identity of the California African American Museum, exploring how an institution can communicate culture, history, and research through a cohesive design system.

The identity positions the museum as both a cultural archive and an active site of inquiry — connecting past and present while emphasizing storytelling as a form of knowledge production.

As part of this rebrand, I developed Cornrow Cartography, a featured exhibition concept within the museum’s programming, extending the identity into a narrative and spatial experience.

Identity System

The design centers on a flexible identity system that operates across print, digital, and spatial applications.

A core element of the system is a bracketed logotype, where nested forms frame and emphasize “African American,” creating a visual structure that both contains and highlights cultural content.

These brackets function as a graphic device for focus and framing — reinforcing the museum’s role in presenting, preserving, and contextualizing Black art and history.

Print & Visual Language

Across print and editorial materials, typography and layout extend the logic of the identity system.

The bracket motif informs composition, hierarchy, and pacing — guiding how information is revealed and read.

This approach positions print not just as communication, but as a curated experience that reflects the museum’s emphasis on research and narrative.


Spatial & Environmental Design

Within spatial contexts, the identity expands into environmental graphics, signage, and exhibition frameworks.

The bracket system adapts to scale and environment — framing imagery, highlighting key figures, and organizing information within physical space.

Through this flexibility, the identity becomes architectural, integrating with the built environment while maintaining a consistent visual language.

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It Be Like Dat! (The Aesthetics and Commodification of Ebonice (AAVE)
Exhibition, Publication Design, Generative Coding, Curation


Awards/Recognitions:
Core77 Design Awards 2024, Design for Social Impact Student Runner Up
It Be Like Dat! is a research-driven publication and exhibition exploring the aesthetics, structure, and commodification of Ebonics (AAVE).

The project positions Ebonics as a complex linguistic and cultural system — one that carries history, identity, and community authorship, yet is often misunderstood, appropriated, or dismissed.

Through typography and archival research, the work reframes Ebonics as both a language and a design system.

Publication & Visual System

The publication functions as both narrative and artifact, translating linguistic structure into visual form.

Typography becomes the primary vehicle — reflecting the rhythm, grammar, and tonal qualities of Ebonics, while challenging traditional typographic conventions.

Archival imagery anchors the work in cultural and historical context, forming a visual framework that reinforces the language’s legitimacy and depth.

Together, these elements construct a system that resists simplification and rejects the commodification of Ebonics as aesthetic without context.

Poster Design(s)

The poster series extends the publication into a public-facing format.

Referencing the visual language of film and concert posters, each piece serves as an entry point — inviting audiences into the publication’s themes while functioning independently as its own statement.

Across the series, typography and image work together to position language as both message and medium, reinforcing Ebonics as authored, expressive, and culturally rooted.

Each poster engages directly with language, using repetition, rhythm, and phrasing drawn from Ebonics to create tension, affirmation, and reinterpretation.


Exhibition Design & Generative Coding





The project extends beyond the page into a speculative exhibition experience that explores how language can be encountered physically and sensorially.

Through interaction, the publication unfolds into space — inviting viewers to engage with Ebonics through sound, touch, and movement.

Prototyping with tools such as Processing and Arduino, I explored how technology could support the experience while remaining unobtrusive, keeping the linguistic narrative central.




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Sunday’s Best

Exhibition & Publication Design

Awards/Recognitions:
Graphis New Talent Awards 2024, Silver

Sunday’s Best is an exhibition and publication exploring the role of dress as cultural expression during the Civil Rights Movement.

The project examines how fashion functioned as both personal identity and collective resistance — shaping visual culture and contributing to broader narratives within American history.

Through archival research and spatial storytelling, the work reframes “Sunday’s Best” as both an aesthetic and a political gesture.

Exhibition Design

Interactive Installation, Multi-media
The exhibition translates this history into an immersive, interactive environment, combining video, physical artifacts, and spatial sequencing to guide the viewer through the narrative.

Centered on the question of how history is experienced rather than simply displayed, the installation considers entry, progression, and takeaway — structuring the exhibition as a deliberate journey.

By reinterpreting “Sunday’s Best” beyond tradition, the space positions dress as an active participant in cultural and political expression, inviting viewers to engage with the material both visually and emotionally.





Publication Design

The publication translates historical research into a cohesive visual system.

Typography, archival imagery, and color draw from the visual language of the period — including references to African textiles such as Kente cloth — creating a dialogue between heritage, identity, and design.

Together, these elements construct a narrative framework that connects past and present, positioning the work as both documentation and reinterpretation.

The project frames “Sunday’s Best” not just as fashion, but as a tool of resistance and cultural expression.


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Speculative LabA space where I share process, current projects, and explorations.

Ancestral Rest
p5.js coding explorations  for cornrow cartography
Ancestral Rest
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addis barge
graphic designer














recognitions/awards








resume
As a child, I loved elaborate and beautiful puzzles. Each piece was a riddle, and the completed picture revealed a perfect harmony. That instinct still shapes how I design.

My work explores design as a system of storytelling, assembling fragments of culture, memory, and research into cohesive visual and spatial narratives. I’m interested in how identity, language, and history can be translated into publication, brand systems, and built environments.

Through research-driven projects and experiential design, I investigate how visual systems hold cultural knowledge and invite participation.




Core77 Design Awards 2024

Design For Social Impact, Student Runner Up

Graphis 2024
New Talent Awards, Silver

GD USA 2024
Students to Watch