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The Ugly Cuties



University honours project

The 'ugly-cute' aesthetic
People subconsciously succumb to societal ‘trends’ and develop similar ‘tastes’ for what is considered as ‘beautiful’ in their era. The ‘ugly-cute’ aesthetic was developed with the intention to challenge conventional ‘beauty’ and push the boundaries of traditional ideologies attached to existing aesthetics. Greatly inspired by Japan’s ‘kimo-kawaii’ (‘gross-cute’) subculture, ‘ugly-cute’ incorporates both ‘cute’ and ‘grotesque’ elements. The ‘ugly-cute’ aesthetic aims to provoke and broaden what the modern society identifies as ‘visually appealing’, encouraging people to unleash their creativity and break through expectations.

Who are the Ugly Cuties?
The Ugly Cuties are creatures whose appearance is cute upon first glance but slightly disturbing once you look closer at their details. Their anatomy often combines human body parts and something else - from animals, to food, to lifeless objects.

Lore
The Ugly Cuties project was founded by Khio, who claimed to be the first witness of an Ugly Cutie during her trip to Japan. Intrigued by her encounter with Responsible Roger (refer to 'rabbit with fingers as ears'), she decided to dedicate the rest of her life to finding and learning more about the unique, unpredictable creatures. She documented their appearances and behaviours in her journal, and shared them with the world in the form of collectable cards.      

The project was split into four main parts:


1. Collectable cards set

(page coming soon)

The Ugly Cuties research was ultimately presented as an ever-growing collectable cards series. This was the first set released, which consisted of twenty ‘normal’ cards and two ‘special edition’ cards.

2. Documentation booklet


Dive deep into Khio’s mind and read about the origin and development of the ugly-cute aesthetic. This 150-page documentation included all the information she gathered through primary and secondary research, along with her sketches, iterations, prototypes and experiments in their most authentic forms to ensure the readers go through a genuine and insightful journey. The booklet was temporarily binded by bulldog-clips as it was intended to be an indefinite on-going process.



3. Grad-show

(page coming soon)

For the end-of-year grad-show where the honours degree students could share and present their work to the public, Khio curated a light-hearted, interactive exercise for her booth, where visitors could learn about the ‘ugly-cute’ aesthetic and ‘discover’ (create) their very own Ugly Cutie. There were more than hundred new Ugly Cuties by the end of the show!

4. Miscellaneous content + merchandise

(page coming soon)

All the content and goodies that did not make it into the ‘main’ presentation of the project. 






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