Munus Shih

Recent

Gallery of Contemporary Art (GOCA)

Brand Identity, Website, Generative Design, 2025

Designed and developed a custom generative patterns system and website for GOCA, a Gallery of Contemporary Art in Chelsea, Manhattan that highlights emerging Asian artists. In collaboration with the team at [Athletics](https://athleticsnyc.com), the brand and website offer a dynamic introduction to these new voices, while creating a vibrant platform for the gallery to showcase fresh art, spark conversations, and host innovative ideas. Breaking away from the typical art gallery website, GOCA's web experience brings the focus on art and artists to life. With vibrant animations at its core, the site feels alive and constantly evolving. The shapes drawn from the logomark animate with purpose, forming shifting patterns over time. Features like current exhibits, artist stories, and highlighted pieces come together to tell the gallery’s story with clarity and vivid detail.

(4066.62, 62)

Installation, 2024

4066.62, 62, began last year in Guanxi, Taiwan, was done in collaboration with local Taiwanese artists and researchers. We were invited to create a cultural memory monument for my hometown back in Guansi, Taiwan. We uncovered the story of Hakka soldiers who were forced to join the military during WWII who were conscripted in the Japanese military, later captured by the Soviet Union. After the war, they returned home to a politically transformed Taiwan, struggling with questions of identy and belonging. To honor these histories, we built a parametric design system that marks each migration with a deformed house, and ask how does the shape of the home gradually change through each departure? We invited participants to interact with our website to document their journey of leaving and coming home by inputting these data and sharing their personal stories. Each data point will then be fed into the parametric system and added to a collection of uniquely generated deformed houses on the website. These data will also be uploaded to the cloud as morse code and captured by the physical installation in Guanxi, presented in continuously flashing telegraphic signals. 4066.62, 62, began last year in Guanxi, Taiwan, was done in collaboration with local Taiwanese artists and researchers. We were invited to create a cultural memory monument for my hometown back in Guansi, Taiwan. We uncovered the story of Hakka soldiers who were forced to join the military during WWII who were conscripted in the Japanese military, later captured by the Soviet Union. After the war, they returned home to a politically transformed Taiwan, struggling with questions of identy and belonging. To honor these histories, we built a parametric design system that marks each migration with a deformed house, and ask how does the shape of the home gradually change through each departure? We invited participants to interact with our website to document their journey of leaving and coming home by inputting these data and sharing their personal stories. Each data point will then be fed into the parametric system and added to a collection of uniquely generated deformed houses on the website. These data will also be uploaded to the cloud as morse code and captured by the physical installation in Guanxi, presented in continuously flashing telegraphic signals.

Duty Free

Installation, 2024

Duty Free is a speculative e-commerce site that unpacks how our labor as designers is valued under capitalism.  Instead of money, time is the main form of currency, offered in units of hours, as inspired by time-banking within solidarity economies. Participants browse design services on an iPad, customizing offerings based on detailed attributes that determine the time required for each task. When someone reaches the checkout flow of the website, they are then prompted to identify what they can offer in exchange. These needs could look like cooking us a meal, giving us a ride, or facilitating a difficult conversation on our behalf. The participants receive a printed receipt of their transaction at the end of their experience.

XR

Brand Identity, Generative Design, Tool, 2024

New Museum

Website, 2023 — 2024

Image of The Studio: Data Designer

Data Visualization, Generative Design, Website, 2023 — 2024

Archive

p5.zine

Zine, Javascript Library, 2023 — 2024

A free and user-friendly javascript library for anyone who’s curious about forking, remixing, and collaborative zine-making.

The Data Designer is a mobile-first interactive survey that I designed and co-developed for the 2023 AIGA National Conference in New York. Participants would go through a series of questions about their experiences and opinions on the current design landscape, and generate a bespoke animated data visualizations about their view on design and share with friends. Building on the original Image of the Studio identity from ten years ago, the tool adds a touch of science-lab flair, using interactive surveys to create a personalized journey through today’s design landscape. Since its debut, hundreds of graphic designers have engaged with the website. The subpage Data Visualizer providing a real-time interactive view of all collected data, offering unique insights into the breadth and depth of the NYC design world.

National ZhaoZhou Referendum

Zine, 2023

A speculative design project that remixes the current western referendum voting process with ZhuaZhou and many other Taiwanese traditions.

The Data Designer is a mobile-first interactive survey that I designed and co-developed for the 2023 AIGA National Conference in New York. Participants would go through a series of questions about their experiences and opinions on the current design landscape, and generate a bespoke animated data visualizations about their view on design and share with friends. Building on the original Image of the Studio identity from ten years ago, the tool adds a touch of science-lab flair, using interactive surveys to create a personalized journey through today’s design landscape. Since its debut, hundreds of graphic designers have engaged with the website. The subpage Data Visualizer providing a real-time interactive view of all collected data, offering unique insights into the breadth and depth of the NYC design world. The Data Designer is a mobile-first interactive survey that I designed and co-developed for the 2023 AIGA National Conference in New York. Participants would go through a series of questions about their experiences and opinions on the current design landscape, and generate a bespoke animated data visualizations about their view on design and share with friends. Building on the original Image of the Studio identity from ten years ago, the tool adds a touch of science-lab flair, using interactive surveys to create a personalized journey through today’s design landscape. Since its debut, hundreds of graphic designers have engaged with the website. The subpage Data Visualizer providing a real-time interactive view of all collected data, offering unique insights into the breadth and depth of the NYC design world.

The Web is Fluid, Generative and Live

Organizing, 2023

This class site serves as a hub for the materials and resources I curated for the class at Parsons Communication Design.

Esto es Diseño

Brand Idneity, Generative Design, 2023

A generative rebrand of the the Chile design digital platform’s social media page made at Design Systems International.

The Data Designer is a mobile-first interactive survey that I designed and co-developed for the 2023 AIGA National Conference in New York. Participants would go through a series of questions about their experiences and opinions on the current design landscape, and generate a bespoke animated data visualizations about their view on design and share with friends. Building on the original Image of the Studio identity from ten years ago, the tool adds a touch of science-lab flair, using interactive surveys to create a personalized journey through today’s design landscape. Since its debut, hundreds of graphic designers have engaged with the website. The subpage Data Visualizer providing a real-time interactive view of all collected data, offering unique insights into the breadth and depth of the NYC design world.

Processing Community Day Taiwan 2023

Organizing, 2023

Co-organized with my Taiwanese collective SpOnAcT!, PCD Taiwan 2023 titled "Code As Acts" is an exploration of how creative programming can engage with society and intersect with various disciplines. The event also highlights past and ongoing efforts by both local and international communities in this field.

Soulmate Matcher: Weaving Community Data

Data Visualization, Generative Design, Website, 2023

By collecting data from 45 community members, a custom algorithm was developed to experiment with a new way of facilitating community building through generative design.

The Data Designer is a mobile-first interactive survey that I designed and co-developed for the 2023 AIGA National Conference in New York. Participants would go through a series of questions about their experiences and opinions on the current design landscape, and generate a bespoke animated data visualizations about their view on design and share with friends. Building on the original Image of the Studio identity from ten years ago, the tool adds a touch of science-lab flair, using interactive surveys to create a personalized journey through today’s design landscape. Since its debut, hundreds of graphic designers have engaged with the website. The subpage Data Visualizer providing a real-time interactive view of all collected data, offering unique insights into the breadth and depth of the NYC design world.

Angles: Cross Perspectives in Design

Data Visualization, Poster, Tool, 2022

An algorithmic and interactive poster campaign for an online global design lecture series.

The Data Designer is a mobile-first interactive survey that I designed and co-developed for the 2023 AIGA National Conference in New York. Participants would go through a series of questions about their experiences and opinions on the current design landscape, and generate a bespoke animated data visualizations about their view on design and share with friends. Building on the original Image of the Studio identity from ten years ago, the tool adds a touch of science-lab flair, using interactive surveys to create a personalized journey through today’s design landscape. Since its debut, hundreds of graphic designers have engaged with the website. The subpage Data Visualizer providing a real-time interactive view of all collected data, offering unique insights into the breadth and depth of the NYC design world.

Layers

Packaging, Generative Design, Tool, 2022

Drawing from the visual vernacular of both soil layers and skin layers, each box pattern is uniquely generated based on the customer’s personalized formula.

Layers is a customizable beauty company. Drawing from the visual vernacular of both soil layers and skin layers, each box pattern is uniquely generated based on the customer’s personalized formula. A custom algorithm was created to map each user’s data into a Bézier curve, generating a one-of-a-kind layered design. The width of each layer reflects the proportion of organic ingredients in the product, while the curves themselves are derived from the user's name, translated through ASCII code. The grid design on the box adapts responsively to the size of the package. Multiple color options are available, allowing for variety across different product lines. Layers is a customizable beauty company. Drawing from the visual vernacular of both soil layers and skin layers, each box pattern is uniquely generated based on the customer’s personalized formula. A custom algorithm was created to map each user’s data into a Bézier curve, generating a one-of-a-kind layered design. The width of each layer reflects the proportion of organic ingredients in the product, while the curves themselves are derived from the user's name, translated through ASCII code. The grid design on the box adapts responsively to the size of the package. Multiple color options are available, allowing for variety across different product lines.

Visualize My Value

Data Visualization, Website, 2021

What determines your salary? Your experience, gender, education, sexual orientation or race? This project visualizes AIGA anonymous Graphic Design Salary Transparency spreadsheet.

The Data Designer is a mobile-first interactive survey that I designed and co-developed for the 2023 AIGA National Conference in New York. Participants would go through a series of questions about their experiences and opinions on the current design landscape, and generate a bespoke animated data visualizations about their view on design and share with friends. Building on the original Image of the Studio identity from ten years ago, the tool adds a touch of science-lab flair, using interactive surveys to create a personalized journey through today’s design landscape. Since its debut, hundreds of graphic designers have engaged with the website. The subpage Data Visualizer providing a real-time interactive view of all collected data, offering unique insights into the breadth and depth of the NYC design world.