Elwing Gao 









Work

Little Library

About



THE CABLE 2025
2025 / PUBLICATION,  ART DIRECTION



Book design and creative direction for the 2025 edition of The Cooper Union’s Cable yearbook, themed “Our Bubble” in reference to the delicate sphere of Cooper’s experimental sanctuary. We grouped students by their favorite local corners ("FIND ME AT:") rather than by major, shifting the focus from academic silos to how our diverse experiences were naturally intertwined through shared spaces. 

I developed a visual system that gestures towards the Bubble by using soft, gutter-bleeding gradients and a round, bouncy serif type set on a curve, paired with portraits shot in a “refractive” ambient lighting. The final product is a 250+ page softcover volume with a soft touch, spot UV coating that serves as a directory of the Cooper neighborhood and a permanent record of the Class of 2025’s collective memory.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Julian Yang
DESIGN EDITOR: Elwing Gao, Adem GjonbalajASSISTANT DESIGNERS: Sofia Mercado, Suyeon Kim, Jinseo Lee
PHOTO EDITOR: Laura Song
EDITORS: Camille Rotemburg, Justice Candelario, Colette Eun-soe Lee










THE PROCESS

After collecting ideas from the editors through a shared Pinterest board, I worked with my co-design editor to create templates for our portrait spreads and dividers. This allowed us to divide a large volume of work between ourselves and a small team of assistant designers, while preparing next year’s design team for their book.