Thrift Up is a hypothetical pop-up thrift exchange, acting as both a fundraiser and supply drive for Women Against Abuse, Philadelphia’s leading domestic violence advocate and service provider.

The rippling effects of domestic violence have devastating consequences for families and communities, impacting more than 10 million individuals per year – and those are only the reported cases. It intersects with a host of other social justice issues; enabled by preexisting systems of oppression, domestic violence in turn helps to perpetuate these cycles. And yet, it remains an uncomfortable, often stigmatized subject.

I saw this project as an opportunity to create an educational platform, addressing common misinformation and spreading awareness, and so I invested in research and gaining an informed perspective.

It was important to achieve a balance between an identity that would remain positive and inviting while also respecting the realities of domestic violence. To address the plurality of Thrift Up’s themes - fashion, sustainability, community, and education - I developed a system of icons that served to organize information, while also representing various thrifted goods and themes of community. These, supplemented with a series of patterns based on textiles and retro fashion trends, allowed me to create a brand system that could communicate without being too heavy or descriptive.

INSTITUTION Tyler School of Art and Architecture

ART DIRECTION Kelly Holohan

SPRING 2022