Do You Remember House?
BOOK & EVENT
02
INDESIGN
PHOTOSHOP
ILLUSTRATOR
FIGMA
This capstone takes the physical form of a vinyl record — a book structured as a flipping Side A and Side B, tracing the Black and Queer roots of Chicago House music through synth-inspired imagery and design. Together, the two sides examine both the historical origins and the psychological experience of the genre, illuminating how house music carved out spaces of refuge, identity, and collective belonging for marginalized communities.
Side A focuses on the history of house music and its emergence from Black and Queer communities in Chicago. It traces how clubs and dance floors became sites of freedom, self-expression, and collective belonging during periods of social and political marginalization.
Side B shifts toward psychology, exploring how music, vibration, anonymity, density, and shared physical space contribute to the euphoric and communal experience of house music. Through rhythm and sensory immersion, the genre becomes a catalyst for openness, intimacy, and human connection.
As a supplement to the book, I organized a house music event featuring three Queer and POC DJs whose sets responded directly to the themes of the project. To honor the origins of house music, I shared a playlist of early Chicago house tracks and asked each DJ to create a set that commemorated and reinterpreted these roots. The event acted as a live extension of the capstone, transforming the project’s research and themes into a collective, embodied experience.