An accordion artist book and visual archive that organizes 256 everyday traces into a cyclical narrative, extending into a participatory campaign, zine kit, and film for observing and documenting overlooked marks.
01 — Trace: Artist Book
Selected Book Spreads
The complete publication unfolded, revealing its nonlinear structure and continuous visual narrative.
Explore all 256 traces through scrolling, time-based controls, motion, and scale.
256 Images
Trace is a visual archive of 256 images documenting overlooked marks found in everyday environments. Drawing on the Buddhist concept of samsara, the project examines decay, residue, transformation, and renewal as interconnected traces of time, movement, and memory.
The images are organized into four stages: Decay, Residue, Transformation, and Newborn, forming a visual loop between disappearance and return. Through shifts in color, texture, and sequencing, ordinary surfaces become part of a continuous narrative without a fixed beginning or end.
The archive takes physical form as an accordion book that can be read page by page or unfolded into a continuous visual map. It also extends into an interactive digital experience, where viewers can browse the collection across different durations and scales.
Trace is a visual archive of 256 images documenting overlooked marks found in everyday environments. Drawing on the Buddhist concept of samsara, the project examines decay, residue, transformation, and renewal as interconnected traces of time, movement, and memory.
The images are organized into four stages: Decay, Residue, Transformation, and Newborn, forming a visual loop between disappearance and return. Through shifts in color, texture, and sequencing, ordinary surfaces become part of a continuous narrative without a fixed beginning or end.
The archive takes physical form as an accordion book that can be read page by page or unfolded into a continuous visual map. It also extends into an interactive digital experience, where viewers can browse the collection across different durations and scales.
Credit
Book design, visual system, sequencing, and structure by Melody Su.
Website concept, interaction design, and Figma prototyping by Melody Su.
All sourced images are credited in the book’s colophon.
02— Participatory Campaign
Kit Overview
The complete kit includes a participatory zine, a visual guide, and a fold-out map for personal documentation.
Campaign Video Study
Observation as Participation
Building on the visual archive in the artist book, I designed nine symbols to represent different kinds of traces, such as footprints, water stains, and temporary marks. Their forms draw from the structures of Chinese characters and the physical shapes of the traces themselves.
Using the map in the zine as a reference, participants can draw a route from their everyday journey and place symbols along the line to document what they notice. Each zine becomes a personal record of a familiar path, encouraging people to slow down, reconnect with overlooked details, and discover how everyday traces can make an ordinary route feel personal and unique.
Using the map in the zine as a reference, participants can draw a route from their everyday journey and place symbols along the line to document what they notice. Each zine becomes a personal record of a familiar path, encouraging people to slow down, reconnect with overlooked details, and discover how everyday traces can make an ordinary route feel personal and unique.
Credit
Campaign concept, visual design, symbol system, and video editing by Melody Su.
Campaign concept, visual design, symbol system, and video editing by Melody Su.