We're All Just Trying to Go Home — Stephanie Williams

We’re All Just Trying to Go Home

Digital Collage
Photography

“We’re All Just Trying To Go Home” is a poster project exploring home as both a physical place and an emotional anchor. Over 23 years, I moved more than 10 times—navigating instability in love, family, friendships, and finances. While none of those spaces ever fully felt like home, each left its imprint on my identity and offered the shelter I needed at the time.

Living on my own for the first time gave me the chance to create the stability and healing space I had longed for growing up. This project is both a tribute to the homes that shaped me and an invitation for viewers to reflect on what home means in their own lives—whether that’s stability, belonging, or peace.

Through typography, layout, and layered imagery, I translated these experiences into a visual language that holds both instability and reflection. While only eight homes are represented, they are the ones that most profoundly influenced me. Captions beneath each photo provide additional context to these memories.

1. My childhood home was an apartment building; one of my sweetest memories were falling asleep in my parents’ arms and having a tiny pet frog.

2. My abuela’s home was a gathering place filled with play, laughter, and carne asada days with cousins and neighborhood friends. I loved being there—listening to my tías’ conversations in Spanish, learning the language through their stories, and savoring my abuela’s authentic Mexican cooking.

3. Memories of childhood fill this place—riding bikes up and down the street with neighborhood friends, playing Guitar Hero with my cousins and brother, navigating first crushes, and enjoying the short walk home from elementary school.

4. Finally having my own room, with proper heating and AC throughout the house, marked a new chapter. I spent time journaling my coming-of-age thoughts, settling back into our hometown, and building lasting friendships.

5. Starting high school—and hating nearly every minute of it. I filled my time experimenting with makeup, listening to Nirvana, and finding reasons to stay away from home. It was also during this time that I began to notice the fractures in love and family.

6. This home carries the memories of waiting for graduation, first love, prom, and a blend of both joyful and difficult moments. It’s also where I first felt the grief of realizing that nothing lasts forever—and that our family dynamic might be coming to an end.

7. Moving into a new home brought new family dynamics and routines. It was here that I discovered what unconditional love feels like and finally experienced structure and balance within family life. Around this time, I also began my journey at UIC as a graphic design major, learning to navigate college life while balancing work and school.

8. Trying again at living with my family, then moving out on my own during my college years—juggling 2–3 part-time jobs while attending school full time. This period was also about reconnecting with family and friends, and eventually stepping into a new chapter after graduation.

2024

UIC DES480: GRAPHIC DESIGN THESIS I

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ABOUT ME

As a recent UIC graduate, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for analog art, working with traditional media such as painting, drawing, collage, linocuts, and creating objects with clay, and translating these pieces into the digital realm to create a dynamic bridge between physical and digital art. My work often explores personal themes that shape who I am—my Black and Mexican heritage, my environment, my thoughts, family and friends, and my evolving identity as an artist and designer.

Lately, I’ve been drawn to brand identity and logo design, exploring how visual systems can communicate ideas and values effectively. As I continue learning and discovering more about myself, I know I’ll also develop clarity about the kind of designer I want to be through these projects. Outside of my work, I enjoy exploring local spots with friends, shooting film, learning Spanish, and being a homebody with my cat.