Visual Communication

Abbie McCarthy

I’m a Visual Communication student with a strong interest in human experience and the emotional side of storytelling. I’m drawn to how design can distil something complex, lived or felt into something others can understand or connect with. My work is often shaped by the wider culture I engage with music, movement, image, sound and I’m interested in how these influence the way we see and interpret the world.

Design, for me, isn’t about surface or decoration, it’s a practical, powerful way to give form to thoughts, memories and emotion. I have a particular love for image-making and enjoy working in a way that feels considered and intuitive. Whether I’m responding to personal narratives or creating something entirely new, my goal is always to communicate with honesty, clarity and impact. 

Sensory Gap

Sensory Gap is an editorial publication that explores anosmia, the loss of the sense of smell as a profound yet often overlooked communication barrier. Through a combination of scientific research, cultural context, and personal narrative, the work reveals how smell shapes memory, emotion, intimacy, and safety. The absence of scent is visualised through minimalist design, restrained typography, and carefully structured white space, echoing the sensory void experienced by those with anosmia. At the heart of the project is an interview with Aileen Fennessy, who has lived her entire life without smell, her insights grounding the abstract loss in tangible, human experience. Rather than recreating scent, the publication makes its absence felt, asking readers to consider how this invisible sense influences connection, identity, and perception. 

Breathe

Breathe is a video work that explores the grounding, repetitive structure of ritual through visual and sensory language. Using the inhale–hold–exhale cycle as a symbolic framework, the piece mirrors the stages of ritual, separation, liminality, and reintegration not through explicit storytelling, but through rhythm and atmosphere. The goal is to create a looped audiovisual experience that gently encourages the viewer to slow down, shift focus inward, and temporarily step outside of structured time. Influenced by research in sensory design, embodiment, and the emotional effects of repetition, the project sits in a space where design becomes experiential rather than descriptive. Subtle shifts in sound and imagery guide the viewer into a controlled rhythm, offering an internal space for pause and reflection. Rather than explain, the piece holds, inviting the viewer to settle, sense, and recalibrate in quiet motion. It is less about watching, more about feeling from within.