Zevin K. Acuña

design        and        creative operations

my brain
instagram
linkedin
cv
me


New York, New York 
(510) 316 2017
zevinacuna@gmail.com

Zevin Acuña is a systems designer focused on building and collaborating on spaces, brand identities, operational systems and copy. Combining design and fabrication literacy with systems thinking to ideate, build and produce multidisciplinary projects, campaigns and brands. Soon to be building brands from the ground up. more...

2025
Blocks

The Blocks were created to create space for various social situations, initially focusing on collaboration and the building of democratic spaces.  

In order to  see the Blocks at their fullest potential, they must be exhibited beyond the exhibition space; in public, in places of debate and collaboration, in places of worship and in places of protest. 

The Blocks are standard square milk crates paired with an open-source cap I designed. Exhibited as a set of ten, Blocks invites the audience to freely rearrange them as various functional spaces and objects. They operate with the intention of adapting to various social situations; conversation, meditation, dance, gameplay and protest.

The Blocks  where originally rolled out in tandem with a larger body of solo work, Internetted, a study on the creation of democratic spaces and niche internet political subcultures.

Typology:
Industrial and Communications Design

Material:
Plywood and Screws on Milk Crates

Team:
Zevin Acuña (Designer/Fabricator)
Vincenzo Pagnotta (Fabrication Consultant)
Owen Mosley (Conceptual Consultant)
Carolina Miñana (Conceptual/Fabrication Consultant)
Valentina Bello (Select Photos)
Ally Kessler (Conceptual Consultant)
Grayson Berry (Material Collection)
Yomna Mohamed (Material Collection)
Chloe Yiu (Material Collection)

2026
Richie Shazam Stainless Steel Book

Worked with Richie Shazam and her Shazam Studios team to develop the construction method for her book, I Was Never Meant to Survive This, which accompanied her debut solo show at McLennon Penn Co. Gallery in Austin TX. In addition to the book, I consulted on curation and production design of the show which you can see here.

You can purchase a book directly from the gallery, here.


Typology:
Fabrication

Material:
Stainless Steel,  Aluminum Rings, Sari Fabric and Paper

2025
Internetted, Flyers

Digital Flyers made for the rollout of Internetted.


Typology:
Digital Design and Production Designer

2024
OOPs and  HOOPs

Design, prototyping and fabrication of five suits worn by various members of installation team for Marisa Moran Jahn and Rafi Segals mural and Hoopcycle at the National Public Housing Museum in Chicago, IL. 

learn more about the project here.



Typology:
Research and Design Coordination

Team:
Marisa Morán Jahn

2025
Guvanch NYC, invites for NYFW show

Guvanch’s team reached out to me to collaborate in design, and fabrication of invites for their NYFW show, intended for their VIP guests.

Typology:
Production Design

Material:
Screenprinted Satin Gloves in a frame

2025
Avni Kumra

Worked with Avni over the course of a few weeks to develop a simple, but seamless site to showcase her talented portfolio of video productions.

Typology:
Web Design

2025
Self Portrait

I do a self portrait annually. In 2025 I made a book and referenced a random selfie that I took on my phone around the same month I printed and constructed the book.



Typology:
Communications Design

Material:
Photo Polymer Prints, Handbound with Hardcover and Grocery Bag Straps

2023
Lights Went Out

Lights Went Out is a light fixture. The intention of the piece is to display the shadow of three silhuoettes: the Man on the Floor, the Man with the Gun and the Man Recording on to their coinciding walls. Each of these silhuoettes is derived from curated photos of myself. 

The three silhuoettes are to depict the de-sensitization of violence that the common person experiences on the internet. Oftentimes, videos of violence are circulated on the internet- for better or for worse. While these videos may shed needed light on particularly pressing issues, they tend to be oversaturated, eventually making a large portion of the population unaffected by these deeply disturbing videos.

After much visual research and references were collected, I took the time to take a sequence of photos of myself, taking on a sort of private performance in order to depict the scenes presented. Three silhuoettes were chosen, each depicting a different role within the process that I am shedding light on: the observer, the victim and the aggressor.



Typology:    
Sculpture

Material:    
Stainless Steel and Lightbulb

2023
Figurative Depiction (of Life on Planet Earth)

I constructed a humanoid figure using material found at home and/or office supply stores with a minimal budget. Using my roommate, and bestfriend Caiden, I casted a water adhesive paper tape over him which generally kept its shape, acting as a good shell for this sculpture.

Figurative Depiction (Of Life on Planet Earth) was created originally to be places as a guerilla art form to be placed on the MTA, the New York City subway. It was developed after constant and regular observation of users of the MTA, I noticed a recurring look of dread among the people. I needed to recreate what that truly felt like should expression in public be free of perception.



Typology:
Sculpture

Material:
Paper tape and clothes

2025
Symbiothèque

Designed the website, identity and produced the first Symbiothèque dance project.


Role:
Graphic Designer, Producer, Art Director

Typology:
Graphic Design, Web Design, Event Production

Team:
Carolina Miñana (Communications, Producer)

my brain

instagram
linkedin
cv
me

New York, New York 
(510) 316 2017
zevinacuna@gmail.com