The Silent Façade

While tennis and modernism project ideals of order, progress, and individual mastery, they serve as façades for deeper human desires, namely, the need for belonging and status. Tennis, with its rigid rules, elegant aesthetics, and emphasis on personal excellence, mirrors modernism’s belief in structure and rationality. However, beneath this veneer of precision lies a social reality: people engage with tennis not only for the sport itself but also for the cultural capital it provides, access to exclusive communities, social validation, and the performance of identity. In the same way, modernism’s pursuit of perfection often obscures the emotional and social motivations that truly drive human behavior, such as the longing for recognition, acceptance, and significance within a larger group.

To visualize this duality, I designed two objects that embody this concept. Their exteriors are modernist, elegant, and clean, defined by a neutral, white palette that conveys elitism, uniformity and tradition much like the façades people present to the world. However, hidden inside lies a striking contrast: an explosion of color and individuality, representing the raw emotions that people conceal beneath societal expectations.

This contrast reflects how individuals are often judged by their outward appearance while their true, more vibrant and complex selves remain hidden. Through these objects, I aimed to expose the tension between surface and substance, perfection and imperfection, structure and emotion, challenging the way we perceive identity, both in sport and in society.

The Silent Façade

Interior and Graphic Design