Heart to Cart

[Exhibition and Experience Design]

Title:

Pop-Up and Modular Chapter Visualization - The Exhibition and Experience Design Handbook

Project Brief

The goal of this project was to conceptualize and design an exhibit in Madison Square Park centered around a food of choice. With Dim Sum as the focus of my project, the exhibit “Heart to Cart” ties together the food, language, and history Dim Sum represents for Cantonese Culture and encourages visitors to reflect on the foods that are significant to their own identity and culture.

Project Tasks:

Concept Development
Structure Development
3D Modeling
Rendering
Graphic Identity

Tools:

Rhino 3D
Enscape
AutoCAD
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Sketch-Up

Concept Design

The first phase of this project was to select a food and design a story and experience for it. I started by doing a site visit, evaluating the target audience, and mind mapping my ideas. With that information, I developed a concept statement for the exhibit and created a mood board for the general theme I was going for. After, I sketched ideas for the structure and details.

Food Choice: Dim Sum

Target Audience: Families

Getting Dim Sum is something you usually do with a large group of family and/or friends and is the Canto version of getting brunch.

Site Observations

Visitor Movement:

Intuitive to along paths through the park
Well-connected and continuous paths
Lots of seating along paths and main areas

Visitor Activities:

Reading
Phone Calls
Enjoying Live Music
Picnics
Eating at Shake Shack
Watching dogs in dog run

Visual Mood Board

Structural Mood Board

Sketches

Experience Journey

As visitors step into the world of Heart to Cart: School of Dim Sum, they are welcomed and enrolled into a hands-on and immersive Mini “Yum Cha” School. Each class will focus on key parts of understanding Cantonese Dim Sum culture through food, history/etiquette, and language.

Entrance + Welcome Area

Visitors can enter the exhibit from four different entrances. There, an attendant will direct them to the welcome area, where they will be given a stamp card to fill out and will be guided to explore each lesson.

Entrance

Welcome Area

Lesson One: Food

Visitors will explore the different types of sauces paired with Dim Sum dishes. They will learn about the different names for each dish and then test their knowledge and play “Steam Up!” to earn a stamp and pass the lesson. Before moving on, visitors can share and draw a dish that is important to their culture and family.

Overview

Learn

Lesson Three: Language

Visitors learn about the differences between traditional and simplified characters as well as the main differences between Mandarin and Cantonese. They will play the “Thank You Simulation” to pass and gain their last stamp. Visitors finish off their lesson by sharing a recording of them saying, “That was delicious”, in their native language.

Overview

Overview

Play + Test Your Knowledge

Lesson Two: History

Visitors discover the origins of Dim Sum and how tea is an important part of the culture. After learning the etiquette of tea at Dim Sum, visitors play “Silk Road Racing” with a partner. They will earn a stamp and be encouraged to share how they drink and prepare their favorite tea.

Learn

Play + Test Your Knowledge

Graduation Gathering

Visitors have completed all three lessons and passed Heart to Cart: School of Dim Sum. They can celebrate by heading to the graduation area to sample Dim Sum dishes and different teas. Visitors can take time to reflect on their experience and get a chance to see what others shared during their visit.