addis barge
graphic design, curation, cultural storyteller


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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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