Description:

The Sampled Self transforms CD packaging into a meditation on identity in the global age. This postgraduate design research project visualises how individuals construct identity from cultural fragments - what hip-hop calls sampling and philosophers term postmodern hybridity. Through an autoethnographic lens, the work maps one creator's journey across music, dance, travel and mentorship into a universal metaphor for self-discovery.

The packaging's physical design embodies its conceptual framework. Laser-cut stencils overlay a Vitruvian Man portrait, representing the body as a site of cultural layering. Users assemble a 3D-printed head sculpture, physically enacting identity construction. Translucent travel cards and metallic inserts highlight how memory selects and transforms experience. TWK Lausanne and Cinderblock typefaces balance subtlety and structure, mirroring identity's fluid yet deliberate formation.

More than an artefact, this project offers a methodology: it demonstrates how design can make abstract theories of identity tangible and interactive. By inviting viewers to unfold, rearrange and reflect, it positions design as a medium for existential inquiry - challenging static notions of self while celebrating the creative potential of cultural in-betweenness. The work contributes to important conversations about multicultural identity, the democratisation of knowledge, and design's evolving role in personal and social transformation.