Breaking Bread — Thesis Publication

SHI SHI JACOBS

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Shi Shi Jacobs is a Chinese American graphic designer creating thoughtful and welcoming experiences across print, web, and brand design. Rooted in curiosity, care, and connection, her practice uses design as a way to build community, bridge cultures, and create space for reflection and shared growth.

She believes in bringing people to the table—designing experiences that invite conversation, foster empathy, and celebrate the human experience through considered details and intentional storytelling.

Index

Breaking Bread — Thesis Publication
Breaking Bread — Workshop & Publication Series
NEON
2025 BFA Thesis Show
Sown Together
2024: Year of the Dragon
Branded Social

Education

Boston University
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design,
summa cum laude
2022–25

School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Completed 33 credits toward a BFA in Visual Communication Design
2021–22

Rhode Island School of Design
Pre-College major in Illustration
2019

Experience

Designer, BFA Thesis Show
Boston University,
College of Fine Arts
Jan. 2025–May 2025

Designer,
Sown Together Senior Show
Boston University,
Graphic Design
Oct. 2024–Nov. 2024

Graphic Design Chair
Boston University,
CFA Student Government
Sept. 2023–May 2025

Admissions Ambassador
Boston University,
School of Visual Arts
Sept. 2023–May 2025

Art & Design Intern
Allen & Gerritsen
June 2024–Aug 2024

Design Intern
Oyay
June 2023–May 2024

Community

Guest Critic
2026 BFA Candidate Review
with Nicholas Rock,
Boston University
May 2025

Host & Designer
Breaking Bread Workshop,
Boston, MA
March 2025

Workshop Assistant
Risograph Workshop
with Alex Luciano,
Multiple Formats Art
Book Fair & Symposium
March 2025

Skills

Adobe Creative Cloud
(Photoshop, Illustrator,
InDesign, Premiere Pro,
After Effects, Lightroom)
Figma
Final Cut Pro
HTML/CSS/JavaScript
Branding & Brand Strategy
Editorial Design
Presentation Design
Illustration
Social Media Management

Exhibitions

BFA Thesis Show
Boston University
Boston, MA
April 2025–May 2025

Sown Together Senior Show
Boston University
Boston, MA
Nov. 2024

Multiple Formats Posters Collection
Boston University
Boston, MA
March 2023

ArtBash Annual Exhibition
Book Arts Unit
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, IL
March 2022

Majors Exhibition
Illustration Unit
Rhode Island School of Design
Providence, RI
August 2019

Design Foundations Exhibition
One of 112 slected works of 570 students for the RISD pre-college Design Foundations Exhibition, Rhode Island School of Design
Providence, RI
August 2019

Last Updated 10.09.2025

WORK

Thesis Statement

Breaking Bread explores how design can nourish empathy, expand accessibility, and stir cultural exchange through food as a shared medium. Growing up in a predominantly White suburb, I had little opportunity to understand my Asian heritage. This changed when I was 12 and discovered Cooking with Dog, a Japanese YouTube home-cooking show that introduced me to new flavors and sparked a desire to cook. YouTube became an accessible archive and community of culinary knowledge, one I consumed, translated, and adapted to my own evolving palate and skillset. My curiosity about this new arena of flavor transformed food into a creative playground, a way to question my own cultural assumptions, and a medium for bringing people together.

As a designer, I now blend my love for food with my practice, treating it as a vessel for dialogue and deeper understanding. Breaking Bread seeks to cultivate community, challenge assumptions, and bridge cultural divides, just as Cooking with Dog began to do for me. Through a recipe zine workshop that welcomes participants and cuisines of all backgrounds, Breaking Bread offers a communal table where food’s cultural legacies and social impact are explored. My thesis culminates in a set of zine featuring recipes, reflections, and artwork from workshop participants, as well as interactive printed ephemera. By emphasizing inclusivity, this thesis invites participant into a “discomfort zone” where they engage with unfamiliar flavors, narratives, and experiences. Breaking Bread harnesses food’s emotional and cultural ties to foreground empathy and build more open, inclusive spaces for social awareness and personal growth.

Thesis Show

My process and final deliverables are documented in this thesis publication, Breaking Bread, and were on view at Boston University’s 2025 BFA Thesis Show in 808 Gallery from April 29—May 10, 2025.

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