Hi there! I’m Nicole Zhu, a design thinker passionate about illustration, design, and literary arts. Most of my projects are rooted in my research on marginalized communities, as I believe understanding diasporic identities will unlock new and more diverse futures for all underrepresented communities. My current obsessions include: trying different NYC restaurants, reading my new FAR-NEAR book, and screen printing T-Shirts.

Project description: “A heartwarming letter will bring you news x ghost country” combines two works that utilize cyanotype, acrylic paint, and embroidery to tell a dreamlike story of the immigrant experience. The bedsheet, “ghost country,” is inspired by Maxine Hong Kingston’s portrayal of both the US and its immigrants as ghosts. Meanwhile, the pillow, “a heartwarming letter will bring you news,” is my father’s letter to me as a dreamscape; your sacrifices and wisdom are what fuel my dreams.