My name is Emma and I am a recent first class honours graduate from Graphic Design Communication at Limerick School of Art and Design. I have a passion for illustration, editorial and motion design. I’m interested in how visual communication can respond to the world around us and reflect the needs of the people in it. Much of my work draws on real-life social issues, focusing on accessibility, empathy and thoughtful storytelling. I like to explore ideas through curiosity and play, supported by research. Whether my work is serious or playful, I want it to have meaning and a clear purpose. My final year project, ‘Invisible Hands’ explores the hidden labour, resilience and inequality woven into the history of Irish lace making. I was drawn to how lace, often viewed as delicate and ornamental, was for many women, a means of survival created under immense pressure during times of poverty and famine. This book contrasts the lives of the women who made the lace with those who wore it, revealing a system where beauty emerged from hardship. Made by working-class women for the wealthy, it stands as both a symbol of exploitation and endurance. At its core, this publication is my attempt to reframe lace as more than a symbol of luxury. It is a product of women's labour, born of necessity and shaped by class divide. It serves as a tribute to the forgotten women behind the lace and reflects on a once-thriving industry that helped shape Irish cultural and economic history.
