Institute of Art Design + Technology Dún Laoghaire
Ireland’s campus for the Creative Industries

Jess Whelan 

BA [Hons] Visual Communication Design

Hi, I’m Jess, a Dublin based (almost official) designer and visual communicator. My design interests lie in branding, typography and graphic image-making, through both print and screen-based mediums. Although I enjoy doing a little bit of everything and love learning new skills that I can apply to my design process. My projects usually involve creating human-centred solutions to real-life issues, as I find that doing so opens up various different fields of research to draw new inspiration from.

Project Description

Data security has become a significant issue over the past 10 years. Everything that people do online is collected, recorded, and studied. This information is then fed back to them through personalised ads which companies subsequently make money off. The data market is expected to hit over €190 billion by 2025. Yet we, the individuals, get none of it.

TaDa is a new company that aims to tackle the issue of data security through their campaign, website, and app. Their main aims are; to show how creepy data collection is, make data easy to understand and allow people to take back their personal data from the big companies. The visual language takes inspiration from data storage units, modular housing, and the idea that data is the patterns and movements we make online. Throughout the identity, the block movements form a constant reclaiming of space, which mimics the reclaiming of personal data.


Thesis Title: The Lady on the Rock—Kitsch, Taste and Community Belonging.

My thesis examined the Dublin born plasterwork statuette ‘The Lady on The Rock’ and how it developed from kitsch to phenomenon. With specific reference to themes such as Community, Belonging, Tribalism and Herd Mentality, the thesis analysed kitsch in general, and then dove into more specific influences which can affect an individual’s view of kitsch.