Skin Stories
Publication DesignSkin Stories is a collection of articles, book excerpts, and personal testimonies that examine how we help and harm our skin (both intentionally and unintentionally) and why we struggle to stop. Compulsive behaviors like skin picking, nail biting, hair pulling, and cuticle picking are surprisingly common, yet rarely talked about, often out of shame or embarrassment.
Rooted in my personal experience with dermatillomania, the book explores the shame surrounding the condition and the toll of bodily self-destruction through skin picking, but also reframes peeling as an act of rebirth and transformation. Its typographic layout is shaped by pieces of skin collected during the research process, creating an organic, imperfect flow of information.
Additional "peeling" prints invite the viewer into the satisfying but ultimately harmful act of peeling, letting them experience the same compulsion firsthand.
Featured at the 2026 Parsons CD Making Space Thesis Show.
Thesis Advisor: Betty Wang
Thesis Exchange Advisor: Tom Griffiths
Designer: Jennifer Chung