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Graduates
Maggie Wu
MFA in Graphic Design - 2 Yr Path — Graduate Graphic DesignCourse:
Grad Thesis
Faculty:
Brad Bartlett
Term:
2026 Spring
CROSSTALK
CROSSTALK explores how humans process information through the interplay between the environment, the body, and the mind. Beyond brain-centered information processing, this thesis project examines how signals move through biological networks connecting the brain, the gut, and the microorganisms living inside us. By studying these pathways of communication, the project repositions information design as a living network, proposing new design approaches that support connections between human, environmental, and technological systems.
Process:
Drawing on systems thinking from scholars such as James Bridle and Fritjof Capra, this thesis suggests that information design can function more like a living system. Using the concept of crosstalk, the bidirectional signaling found in the gut–brain axis, the project proposes that information environments can be designed as adaptive networks that balance flow, translation, and intensity across human and environmental systems.
Learning Outcomes:
Information design has the potential to align with how the body processes signals through feedback, rhythm, and adaptation. Using graphic design as a bridge between research and public understanding, the project translates complex knowledge into visual storytelling and interactive experiences that make these invisible systems easier to see and explore.