Dennae Jones
Design Projects
Cake Lab Exhibition
Social Sectors Intervention
Cake Lab addresses a space in our society where we need more opportunities for adults to be able to take a break from the mundane and the negative, and to continue learning new things. It focuses on addressing how the medium of exhibition design can be widely applied to inspire adults to express themselves creatively and provide opportunities for learning and exploring. This experience attempts to spark curiosity and an interest in baking, science, and/or creative expression
in visitors. To be able to experiment with baking at home, visitors will be introduced to basic baking processes and baking science principles.
By connecting the concepts of experiencing fun with acquiring knowledge, Cake Lab aims to encourage adults to play more, learn more, and creatively express themselves more. The world needs more joy; the world needs more cake.
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This thesis project includes content development, background research (audience, site, and precedents), spatial planning, storyline development, narrative arc, design strategies, 3D modeling & rendering, graphic design, a conceptual design package, a research paper, and the creation of a display book.
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Click on the image to view more of the project. Click here to view a PDF version of the Cake Lab book.
Pixie Party
This project is a design for a fictional party steeped in intrigue, whimsy, and playfulness. Absinthe, the party's theme, is also known as "The Green Fairy", has a Victorian aesthetic that plays on contradictions and relies on an air of mystery. Its history is full of sensationalism and controversy, with famous artistic & literary devotees and rumors of hallucinations.
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This absinthe-inspired party is designed for mischievous forest pixies, which are common to the British Isles. These diminutive, slightly wicked faeries like to play tricks, lead people astray, and cause mayhem, but stop short of being actually evil.
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The party is set in the real-life Goblin Hall of the abandoned castle, Yester Castle in east Scotland. The mystical forest is brought indoors for both beauty and intrigue, with giant mushrooms, or toadstools, serving as seating, and a slightly hidden pathway weaving through a maze of ferns.
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Click on the image to view more of the project, including technical drawings and a detailed cake design.
Underneath the Overalls: Grant Woods Studio
This public space intervention is designed for Meridian Hill Park in Washington, DC. It focuses on three main social sectors, with central themes of food and communal connection. The design addresses communication between community members, and is a response to data and feedback collected from park users. From audience surveys, three personas were developed, with different wants and concerns for their community park.
This particular response focuses mostly on persona three, with consideration for persona two. Goals include encouraging community bonding, allowing for shared meals, supporting the local economy, and keeping the park clean and vibrant.
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Click on the image to view the full project.
Morpheus' Dreamscape
This project focuses primarily on curation through the lens of the Smithsonian-originated "IPOP" model. IPOP is a model of experience preference that categorizes visitors by their preferences of key dimensions of experience. In this project, an exhibition is curated with specific regard to addressing visitor preferences towards learning about Ideas (conceptual, abstract thinking), People (emotional connections), and Objects (visual language & aesthetics).
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Morpheus' Dreamscape is divided into four exhibit units, each with corresponding object, people, and idea focuses. Exploring exhibition structure, content curation, and exhibition aesthetics, this project has all the major components of a preliminary exhibition proposition from a curatorial design standpoint.
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Click on the image to view the full project.
Knot Complex: Rhythm & Pattern of Textile Structure
Knot Complex was selected from a list of upcoming exhibitions planned for The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum in DC. In collaboration with the exhibit curator, and based on the list of artifacts, a graphics package and 3D model were created. Design proposals were presented at the museum to the director, John Wetenhall, and various museum staff, including curators.
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Click on the image to view a gallery of the graphic design images and the 3D model.
Beneath the Overalls: Grant Wood, The American Icon is a fresh look at an American artist who is often under-appreciated and whose work is sometimes mislabeled as mundane or even boring. This project involved taking a curated collection from Grant Wood's Studio and transforming it into a fresh and exciting exhibition. Looking at a more traditional subject matter, the challenge was to create a dynamic exhibition that went beyond basic wall text panels.
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Components of this design package include a curatorial statement, interpretive goals & strategies, a narrative walkthrough, spatial planning, graphic design, and well-developed interactives.
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Click on the image to view the full project.
Scent of a Stranger
Ubuntu
Ubuntu is a concept restaurant brand design project. The concept for Ubuntu allows patrons to make a difference, just by going out to dinner. We lead busy lives, and we may keep telling ourselves we’ll make that extra time to volunteer, but never quite get around to it. That’s where Ubuntu comes in. When you go out to eat at Ubuntu, the proceeds from your meal go directly to a charity of your choosing. In addition to a menu with a wide range of delicious meals for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, and a comprehensive local craft beer and wine list, you are given a charity menu, teaching you about the ten amazing organizations we support, so you can pick the one you are most passionate about.
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As South African social rights activist, Desmond Tutu says:
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“One of the sayings in our country is Ubuntu: the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness… We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole world. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.”
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Click on the image to view more of the project, including branding collateral and the gallery display of the design.
Scent of a Stranger is a micro-interaction formulated on the design prompt of creating a meaningful interaction.
There are many different ways an interaction can be meaningful, but one of the components that is sometimes overlooked is engaging the senses, especially those which are less commonly considered. Because of that, this micro-interaction focuses on the sensory faculty of scent and how it can be creatively applied to an interaction between strangers for a meaningful impact.
This interaction is set at a recurring Friday night community event that focuses on stimulating the senses. The event would be at either a local wine bar or an intimate multi-use community space to encourage creating local connections within a community. For taste, the event has a wine and cheese pairing; for sound, there’s live local music, and this interaction fulfills a scent component. This environment was selected for an intimate, local atmosphere with a feeling of warmth and connection. Strangers are able to mingle and have their senses stimulated in different ways, while hopefully making new friends, in part aided by randomly being matched up for the Scent Of A Stranger booth.
The impact of this micro-interaction is threefold. First, it requires getting to know a stranger, listening, and learning about someone different from yourself – encouraging empathy and connections between strangers. Additionally, people often feel that they have had a meaningful experience when they create something tangible and are able to challenge themselves creatively. Finally, each participant gets a candle that shows them how they have been interpreted by a stranger – an expression of who they are summarized in one physical sense. This provokes lasting thoughts – how do I see myself? Can I be simplified into a candle? Did any preconceptions based on first impressions or appearances factor into either participants selections?
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Click on the image to view the rendering and visual instructions larger.