You'll See Me Again

Project Description

You'll See Me Again is a web tool that lets users design their own surfboard using art styles rooted in American Latino culture. Users make four selections: board finish, art style, subject, and decorative elements, which build a structured prompt sent to an AI image generator. The result is a photorealistic surfboard that reflects their cultural identity. Every board is saved to a community gallery alongside the user's reflection. The project grew from a collaboration with Mexican American artist Guillermo Alvarez, who hand-painted a physical surfboard as the proof of concept. You'll See Me Again is the digital version of that experiment, built so anyone can participate.

Problem

Latino surfers have been part of surf culture since the 1960s, but their presence has rarely been reflected in historical contexts. The art on the boards, the imagery in museums, and the mainstream aesthetic of the sport have largely excluded Latino influence, despite the fact that pinstripe detailing, religious motifs, and traditional tattoo artwork rooted in Latino culture appear throughout surf artifacts. This gap creates a sense of exclusion for American Latinos who surf or aspire to surf. Without visible representation in the objects and imagery that define the sport, belonging feels conditional. You'll See Me Again engages with that tension by placing culturally familiar art traditions on one of surfing's most personal artifacts, the surfboard.

Insights

You'll See Me Again grew from personal experience, cultural research, and iterative design experimentation. Secondary Research Documentation of Latino surfers was scarce, but a closer look at surf artifacts revealed a pattern. Pinstripe detailing, religious motifs, and traditional tattoo artwork showed traces of Latino visual influence that had never been formally credited in the mainstream surf narrative. Design Experiment A physical surfboard was designed in collaboration with Mexican American artist Guillermo Alvarez to test whether Latino art traditions could be translated onto a surfboard authentically. The board features a Latina surfer with Aztec symbols representing flower and water. Style Guide A visual identity system drawing from mexican ceramics was developed to carry the cultural tone across the digital experience. User Testing Five American Latinos tested the prototype. All five wanted to share their board and see what others made, directly inspiring the community gallery.

Solutions

You'll See Me Again is a four-step web-based design tool built for children and families to explore the connection between Latino culture and surf culture. Users choose a board finish, an art style drawn from Latino and Chicano visual traditions, a central subject, and decorative symbols. These selections fill a structured AI prompt, like a mad lib, that generates a photorealistic surfboard unique to them. While the board generates, users read historical context connected to the art style they chose. Before seeing the result, they answer one reflection question. The finished board saves automatically to a community gallery where anyone can see the designs and reflections of others. No purchase or physical product comes out of the experience. You'll See Me Again is designed purely for exploration, education, and creative expression. The goal is to give children a low-barrier way to see themselves and their culture reflected in a sport that has historically felt out of reach. The lasting impact is not the board itself but what the experience opens up. A child who designs a surfboard decorated with art that looks like something from their home, their family, or their community carries that recognition with them. That is the foundation the project is building toward, and why the long term vision is to bring this experience to surf competitions, community events, and fan zones during the LA 2028 Olympic surfing events, where the next generation of Latino surfers will have the chance to see themselves on the world stage.