Magik: Magic, Design & Mushrooms

Magik was my honours thesis — a year-long project where I was free to explore any topic that felt meaningful to me.I chose to question something that sits at the centre of design but is rarely addressed directly: how our work shapes perception. If design influences how we see the world, then it also influences how we relate to it.This project became an exploration of animism — the idea that the natural world is not separate from us, but alive and interconnected. I was particularly drawn to fungi and mycelium as living systems that quietly support entire ecosystems beneath the surface.Instead of positioning myself as the sole creator, I began experimenting with co-creation — working with water, natural pigments, and fungal growth processes to see what would emerge when I stepped back and allowed materials to lead.The outcome was a brand system, research publication, and series of material experiments that reframed design as relational rather than extractive.