Malina Mikami
Graphic Designer
Fungi are fundamental to our existence.
Sporaform[a] embodies the interconnected nature of mycelium, exploring its role as an active participant in reshaping material-driven design practices.
My intention was to explore the potential of mycelium and fungi—took look beyond the margins—as viable alternative materials for the future of print, editorial design, and book-making.
Info
References
Books
2023
Let's Become Fungal!: Mycelium Teachings and the Arts
Yasmine Ostendorf-Rodríguez
2020
Entangled Life
Merlin Sheldrake
2021
On The Necessity of Gardening: An ABC of Art, Botany and Cultivation
Maria Barnas
2023
Ways of Being
James Bridle
Articles and Essays
2021
Fungi as Mediators Linking Organisms and Ecosystems
Mohammad Bahram and Tarquin NetherwayLink
2022
Mycelium-Based Composite: The Future Sustainable Biomaterial
Digafe Alemu, Mesfin Tafesse, and Ajoy Kanti MondalLink
2015
Ethics, Ecology, and the Future: Art and Design Face the Anthropocene
Kayla AndersonLink
Workshops
2025
Mycelium Dough Workshop @Murmurs Gallery
Sasha Fishman and Lera Niemackl
2025
Presentation
2025
Initial demonstration
2025
Materials consisted of; mycelium dough, water, cardboard, tape, and rubbing alcohol
2025
I first constructed a kinetic mobile that I then molded the mycelium dough on to
2025
Mycelium growth after one week
—
2025
Mycelium Workshop with Myco Myco Farm @ArtCenter
Sam Shoemaker
2025
Mycelium
2025
The substrate that the mycelium would eventually grow into and absorb nutrients from
2025
Mycelium growth
Fun Fact: Mycelium is hydrophobic, meaning it repels water.
History
c. 300-600 AD
Pre-Columbian Stone Mushroom
Penicillium
1968
An Introduction to the Science of Human Settlements
C. A. Doxiadis
1843
The Motive Power of the Human System
H. H. Sherwood
Gratitude
Thank you
Thesis Professor: Sam-Jan Fleming
Mentor: Wayne Hunt
Mentor: Sam Shoemaker
© Malina Mikami 2025
Work
[01]
How-To Guide on Mushroom Ink
My first gesture was creating an accessible how-to guide on making your own mushroom pigment. My focus was on revealing the hidden richness and depth of fungi—not only through their inner workings, but with their capacity for color.
A Digest, Digesting
The newspaper digest acts as a bridge between a book and a poster—something that could both visually represent and briefly communicate the essence of my thesis.
It was here, within my research, and in the process of designing the digest, where I realized that I wanted to bring life into my work—a setting between words—for mycelium and their fruiting bodies to grow.
I accomplished this by inoculating my designed newspaper with pink oyster mushrooms.
Pink oyster mushrooms became my muse due to their abilities in mycoremediation—a form of bioremediation that involves breaking down harmful contaminants in the environment.
Fungi Book: Sporaform[a]
The fungi book is composed of fungi-based materials.
I began this journey by making paper from mushrooms—specifically oyster mushrooms.
This was about reimagining what fungi could become, taking something organic and repurposing it to meet a different functional need.
Emerging from this exploration—I also began cultivating book covers made from mycelium, entirely from scratch.
The narrative of the fungi book is a softer, personal journey—a reflection on my process and the learnings and unlearnings I encountered along the way.
Oyster mushroom paper, handmade and printed with an inkjet printer.
Work