P002 → On Random Image Generators
“Randomness. I love browsing Wikipedia using ‘Special:Random’ and just seeing what turns up.”
-Me for GDUSA, in response to, “What inspires you?”
I relate so much to this movie, especially this specific scene, as my partner and I play flute and piano duets together
I hope each of you experiences a moment when a piece of media resonates so deeply, it feels like a direct response to your worries about life and the future. For me, this was the Studio Ghibli movie, Whisper of the Heart. If you’re a fan of the studio or even just familiar with their work, you may immediately think of the fantastical plotlines, emphasis on ecological stewardship, and characters that toe the line between human and animal. But WOTH is nothing like the typical Ghibli film. Directed by Yoshifumi Kondo and written by the leader of the studio, Hayao Miyazaki, the film presents a charming slice of life, following the adolescent struggles of a young girl, Shuizuku, as she navigates her budding passion for creative writing as well as the pressures of school and relationships.
I first watched this movie as I was coming into the College of Design at NC State, nervous about my decision to go to design school and devastated over the financially mediated reality that I would be staying in Raleigh for another four years. Under the teaching of Sara Queen, I jumped straight into my work and fell in love with the design process of testing, ideation, and refinement. It was the lessons of WOTH that guided me through my first year, as well as when I began to have my doubts about the program I had chosen.
In WOTH, Shizuku meets an old man who runs an antique store and becomes a mentor figure to her as she begins to write a short story about a captivating cat statue in his store, The Baron. As he coaches her, he shows her a crystal and says, “It’s a special kind of rock called a geode. Hold it close to your eye and look inside—those crystals are called beryl. There are pieces of raw emeralds deep inside them. [Emeralds are worth a lot of money], but they need to be cut and polished first. When you first become an artist, you’re like that rock. You’re in a raw, natural state with hidden gems inside. You need to dig down deep and find the emeralds tucked away inside you. And that’s just the beginning. Once you’ve found your gems, you have to polish them. It takes a lot of hard work. Oh, and here’s the tricky part. Look at the crack in the geode. You see that big green crystal there? You could spend years polishing that, and it wouldn’t be worth much at all. The smaller crystals are much more valuable. And there may be some even deeper inside that you can’t see.”
So let’s break this down through my own experience, which I hope might reflect some greater designerly coming-of-age you can relate to.
Step one: finding the gems inside yourself
If you know me, I am just about the most “graphic designer” person ever. I began doing graphic design in high school, and 2025 marks my 8th year using Adobe Illustrator and downloading fonts and whatever else we graphic designers do. This prior experience created a strange cocktail within me; I was much too cocky and judgemental yet “en meme temps” I was insecure for loving graphic design and felt judged by my friends in other COD majors. The root of that insecurity is what I call the College of Design “hierarchy”. Whether you like it or not, our majors, in order of perceived (emphasis on the perceived) importance, fall as follows:
I’m sure you see what I am getting at here.
With a combination of love for physical building during FYE and shame for not being in the “top” major of COD, I decided to change my major to Industrial Design. I had done a whole portfolio, several pros and cons sessions, and even talked to our department head about the transfer process. If not for one person, I would’ve done it. I knew Jarrett (yes, Jarrett Fuller!) would judge my decision to switch and see through my pride, which is exactly why I told him last about it.
His response was as straightforward as he is. “Why?” The silence that followed is all I need to cite to explain why I stayed in Graphic Design.
It is normal to doubt your major, and if anything, it is a good thing that should be explored. Don’t just land on one thing without testing and trying others; it’s like the design process but applied to yourself.
Step Two: Polishing the Gems
The New Ugly’s 15 minutes of fame in 2023’s Spotify Wrapped
I consider myself to be a part of a design school deemed “The New Ugly”. Inspired by chaotic, amateurish designs of signage and that of the like of Yeshuyezhi (a Chinese coconut milk brand), the “new ugly” is an embrace of the ordinary and, like its name, the ugly. Speaking on the movement, designer Guyang Yu states, “It is in those ugly works that we experience an unexpectedly unique visual effect. These ‘new’ and ‘ugly’ experiences immediately caught the eyes of some professional designers. They imitate these works, going against the ‘disciplines of design’ to create something more expressive. I am unsure of their intentions for doing so. It might be a rebellion against authority; it might be mockery or satire; it could be just for fun.”
And I agree with Yu, I’m also uncertain of my intentions. If I want to get deep and philosophical and maybe pretentious, I could say I’m rejecting Eurocentric modernism and the white supremacy of the International Style design movement (aka Adolf Loos-ian design).
But in a much more everyday, crude way, I find creating “ugly” things to be rather fun. This is my gem.
NCSU is not the place for those who enjoy the ugly. First, one must confront the environment of Raleigh, NC, which is millenial graphic design-centric at best and ignorant of design at worst. Second, one must consider the times. NCSU is an engineering school, and at the onset of the UX/UI boom, it was no shock that the major shifted from Graphic to Graphic and Experience Design, reflecting the wider trends of the industry. I predict that the “graphic design” part of our major will slowly fade away until the program is solely a User Experience Design degree. But that’s just a theory.
I’ve gotten quite a bit of hate on my work from everyone, ranging from my mom to my Czech studio professor. It is easy to react to criticism with defense, and for me, this defense was the “Mom, it’s not just a phase, no one gets me!” sort of pretention. It took taking a step outside myself to realize that often my attempts at “amateurism” were (surprise, surprise) amateur and disorganized.
Polishing your gems involves designing personalized troubleshooting mechanisms for your weaknesses.
My weaknesses consist of doing too much with little organization, poor craft, and a lack of clarity. This is why we need critique, discussion, and collaboration to help us become self-aware so that we can fail early and know ourselves. Now, I experiment at the beginning of a project and slowly strip back layers to show the best parts of my work.
An example of my love for weirdness, distortion, and the ugly, found in my zine Food and Alienation
The somewhat backhanded superlative I was given by Matej Chabera, coincidentally right after finishing Food and Alienation
Step Three: Choosing Which Polished Gems to Continue With
A spread from my satirical publication, Erin Secosky Brand
So, you’ve begun to polish your gems. But what do you do with them now?
I’m going to tell you something I absolutely hate about the American capitalist system and if this is the first time you’re hearing this… I’m sorry.
You will need to sell yourself and your skills if you would like to get a job and earn a living.
Yes, this means making a LinkedIn, creating custom resumés based on each job application, and even doing custom portfolio mini-projects for your favorite job applications. Under capitalism, we are all commodities and unfortunately we must conform to this if we want to survive. (I did a project about this sophomore year where I created a hyper-specific satirical “Erin Secosky brand”. If you want to see it, email me, but I’m too embarrassed now to post it publicly)
Don’t be deceived by what you hear, there’s a myriad of paths out there, outside of the mainstream canons of UX/UI and Branding. I know friends and alumni that have gone into animation, cartography, museum studies, and consulting, all careers that are quite outside the “typical” graphic design roles. I’ve yearned for a niche for all of my undergrad and truly the way to find it is through experimentation, testing, and boldness.
Firstly, join a ton of clubs. I don’t care if it has the slightest to do with design, clubs are mini experiments meant to create social bonds, help our world, and help you find what you love. It was through The Fish Market Gallery that I discovered my passion for museums and exhibition design. Secondly, talk to people. Get coffee with your favorite professor, subscribe to a LinkedIn Premium free trial and message god-knows-who, even just chat with friends.
You’ll eventually hear someone describe their job and think- that actually sounds like what I want.
As this section is wrapping up, I’m realizing that I havent even mentioned the titular concept of Random Image Generators! I love random stuff, and used ChatGPT to create a random image generator that pulls from wikipedia to function on the landing screen of my portfolio. I showed this to the COD career counselor and randomly (get it...), a photo of an elderly woman popped up. The counselor was so offput by this, she advised me to remove it. I did.
![Random Wikipedia Image]()
Never remove your random image generator or whatever that is for you. This is your gem and this is what you should market, even if it is a bit odd.
A couple of random haha tidbits more
- Never date someone who has zero respect for design. ( I once had a man tell me that my lack of high-paying job prospects was why I dated engineers. This is why I don’t date engineers.)
- Graphic Designers: watch how much you talk about fonts. It will annoy people, unfortunately.
- Keep up your hobbies outside of design, no matter how devoted and in love you are with designing
- A huge part of design is spending time on things you will never use. This extends to the whole “gem” metaphor. Don’t get hung up on a sunk-cost fallacy; every skill is valuable, whether you use it in your career or not.
- Be bold. There is nothing wrong with being a “bravest creator” type, even if everyone seems to think you’re some avant-garde weirdo. Keep trying, keep refining, and you’ll impress them. The same professor who gave me that backhanded superlative also chose me as the student to create the design final presentation invitation poster. Trust the process.