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Your Names are in Our Hearts Project
Choosing a new name is a very important step for many transgender and nonbinary people affirming their true gender identity. No matter how much sentimental value or family history the “deadname” (the old name given at birth) carries for their parents, it usually does not fit and often emotionally hurts the transgender or nonbinary person.
My graphic design project, YOUR NAMES ARE IN OUR HEARTS, celebrates new names chosen by transgender and nonbinary children. It is composed of real new names of real people submitted to me by their loving parents. Most have also given me their kids’ color preferences, which I have followed in this work as closely as possible. We love our kids, and we wholeheartedly affirm their identity, honor their names, their pronouns, and their style!
The artistic method used in this work is called tessellation. It involves covering a flat surface (a heart shape in this case) with geometric shapes called tiles, with no overlaps or gaps. I am using different fonts to spell out names, arranging letters in a tessellated heart shape. Each heart contains all letters of the name which is spelled out below that heart. If you want to see specific names more clearly, click on the image on the right, save it to your computer, open it, and magnify the image.
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