Katherine Li

Product design work

NYU fabrication study · Fall 2024

An Umbrella for a Rainy Day

  • Cyanotype
  • Paper construction
  • Surface design
  • Model making

A paper umbrella made with cyanotype prints of my childhood notes.

My handwritten notes transferred onto the paper through cyanotype.

How I made it

I started with origami and notes I had written as a child. I planned where the notes would sit on a template and transferred them through cyanotype. The paper was too thick to fold as planned, so I cut it into sections and assembled an umbrella shape instead.

Process details

Planning where the notes would go before the cyanotype exposure.
Forming the umbrella canopy from the cut paper.
The open umbrella, with the notes spread across the canopy.
Holding the folded canopy to show its size.