Project
Hidden in plain sight
Description
To live between cultures is to float—neither anchored nor adrift, but suspen-ded in the in-between. While studying abroad in Michigan, I encountered moments of cultural difference so subtle they almost escaped notice, yet so powerful they lingered in memory. Hidden in Plain Sight transforms these fragile impressions into permanence. It is a book about noticing, about making the invisible visible, and about the quiet contrasts that define the space between Austria and Michigan.
Year
2025
Discipline
Editorial Design
Project Type
University
By looking into the theory of Hall’s Cultural Iceberg Model, the book explores both visible and hidden aspects of culture, uncovering subtle norms, values, and everyday behaviors.
Analog photography, with its tactile quality and imperfections, captures moments that often go unnoticed, highlighting subtle contrasts that digital media can overlook. As Susan Sontag once noted, photography ‘is a way of imprisoning reality, understood as a way of making it tangible.’
By combining images with personal narratives and interactive elements, the book invites readers to explore and reflect on the hidden layers of culture, turning abstract contrasts between Austria and Michigan into tangible experiences.
Transparent pages let images and texts overlap, showing how culture is layered and connected.
The fluid layout mirrors culture's dynamic and evolving essence. As Stuart Hall insightfully noted, 'Cultural identities are the names we give to the different ways we are positioned by, and position ourselves within, the narratives of the past.'
Contact
Badnerstraße 9/5,
2504 Sooss, Austria
Phone: +43 660 3932526
Email: bujdei_naomi@yahoo.de
Behance: @naomibujdei
© Naomi Bujdei 2025
Graphic designer
