Parsons School of Design
BFA Communication Design
Thesis 2020

Parsons School of Design
BFA Communication Design
Thesis 2020

Attach
Alicia Lee

Attachment theory, the study of how we understand relationships, was heavily studied by Mary Ainsworth and John Bowlby in the 1960s. It is demonstrated that the way in which our primary caregivers show us love in the first year of our lives heavily influences us throughout adulthood. There are four attachment styles. The one healthy attachment style is secured and the three unhealthy attachment styles are preoccupied anxious, dismissive avoidant, and fearful anxious-avoidant. Those with an unhealthy attachment style go through and cause a lot of confusion and pain when it comes to how they love and how they understand it. Many of us do not know what our own attachment styles are. Will knowing it help us understand our confusing emotions? As a designer I also asked, how can communication design help those with unhealthy attachment styles internalize and work towards untangling complex emotions?

My project, Attach, is a two-part design project. The first being a series of four children’s illustration books meant to be read by adults. It showcases specific thoughts and tendencies of the four different attachment styles in similar, daily life scenarios. By translating heavy study case content into illustrated fiction, the four books allow the reader to lightheartedly relate to one of the protagonists.The second part is an app that provides a safe space for self-reflection for those who desire to work towards a healthier attachment style as well as a better understanding of their own emotions and thought patterns. It will help the audience dive into childhood, objectively look at subjective dynamics, while maintaining a straight-forward language via simple visuals. This project is a step towards deeper understandings of complex emotions, and how to unravel the ones we find harmful.

Yehia Abouseif

Nia Acosta

Kamal Adisa

Sakshi Agarwal

Sejal Aggarwal

Lily Saeli

K.C. Amable

Sulamita Javier Balanutsa

Emily Baro

Emily Bergerson

Xiujie Bi

Sonja Briney

Kayla Van der Byl

Dahee Byun

Kimberly Chan

Krish Chandiramani

Militza A. RodrĂ­guez Charr

Julie Yu Chen

Xingman Cheng

Habin Cheong

Kristen Chik

Paloma Corrigan

Misha Dhanoolal

Vicky Fan

Vincent Garcia

Cyril Gordon

Yangchen Maya Gruben

Maria Guardazzi

Gideon Gulko

Esra Gumrukculer

Aanya Gupta

Arani Halder

Bobby Hill

Jinghan Hu

Olivia Hunter

Sejung Hwang

Geddes Alexander II

Jyudeh Maximilian Russ Jarrett

Madison Jennings

Won Kyung Jung

Inga Kan

Ayse Yaren Kaya

Prithi Khalique

Shanjida Kibria

Celine Kim

Seowon Kim

Suah Kim

Youjong Kim

Rasheka Krishan

Eli Lederberg

Grace Ledoux

Alicia Lee

Hyunseo Suzy Lee

Natashia Lee

Rachel J. Lee

Yoo An Lee

Tiffany Leung

Emily Li

Sinong Li

Qiyao Lin

Jiayi Liu

Sichao Liu

Morella Tovar M

Ares Maia

Sophia Marinelli

Julia McGillicuddy

Sanika Mehta

Eleni Mentis

Anthony Muchai Muiruri

Daniel Mullins

Meredith Nelson

Ruowen Niu

Catalina O'Connor

Hyun sun Ohm

Carolyn Olaguivel

Lorna Oppenheim

Kyle Palma

Anastasia Contos Papakonstantinou

Brendon Park

Jimin Park

LeeJun Park

Sanha Park

Tommy Park

Tunchanok Patana-anake

Sean Phan

Delaney Poitras

Vincent Privitera

Jhoenny Ramirez

Taylor Sade Raschillo

Zhen (Yoomi) Ren

Elizabeth Richards

Rachel Rudolph

Leoder Sanchez

Maria Sanchez

Simon Sciacovelli

Shreya Shah

Seth Sharbono

Cindy Shi

Mimi Shih

Avni Shivkumar

Arunima Sinha

Shivam Sinha

Jason Decker Sloves

Bailey Storms

Tingyu Su

Yuchen Su

Kelt Tobunluepop

Kiana Toossi

Shivani Toshniwal

Jeanette Tran

Valerie Trisnadi

Yi-Chieh Tsai

Manasi Vashi

Emil Waldron

Isabella Wang

Jingyi Wang

Yuzheng Wang

Sophie Westfall

Ellie Wolfond

Jiapei Wu

Andy Yang

Xinchen Zhang

Yujing Zhang

Evelin Susan Fung Zhong

Evgeniya Zykova