forum.
Activating the Jacob Lawrence Gallery as a 3rd Space
Creative culture thrives outside the classroom. It lives in the spontaneous collisions between students collaborating, decompressing, and building community together.
When the art building’s primary gathering spot closed its doors how could a gallery step in to fill the void?
skills
Experience Design
Project Management
Fabrication
User Research
tools
Figma
Woodshop
…
timeline
11 weeks
team
context
Partnering with the Jacob Lawrence Gallery, our team created Forum, an intervention designed to break down formal gallery etiquette and invite students to settle in and connect.
Engineered as a lasting operational handoff rather than a temporary pop-up, each component equips gallery staff with sustainable tools to invite lingering and build community culture across future cohorts.
discovery
Stakeholder interviews and student research revealed a clear disconnect between the gallery's mission and everyday campus habits.
The Invisible Threshold
Open doors still felt like a closed boundary, leaving students convinced they needed formal permission or an academic reason to enter.
Institutional Baggage
Unspoken rules of quiet observation concealed the gallery’s actual mission: education, experimentation, and social justice.
Missing Infrastructure
Existing furniture felt fixed and observational, leaving students without the modular tools needed to claim the space as their own.
Jordan Jones
Gallery Curator
"
We want people to know you can take ownership of these spaces… and make them your own.
"
system components
Modular Furniture
Built to fit the building's elevator, the wheeled cart moves as a consolidated unit to display literature and anchor community events.
Educational Zine
Designed as a permanent companion to the cart rather than single-use event ephemera. It documents Jacob Lawrence’s pedagogy and the JLG’s mission of education, social justice, and experimentation, ensuring future cohorts understand their permission to occupy the space.
Brand Package
A modular visual identity, poster templates, and social media assets handed over directly to gallery staff. This allows the JLG to independently promote future events while maintaining an approachable, community-oriented tone.
General
Event-Specific
STRAWBERRY
Hero Color
HEX: #D22A1D
CMYK: 0, 80, 86, 16
LEMON
Hero Color
HEX: #EDD34B
CMYK: 0, 11, 68, 7
MATCHA
Hero Color
HEX: #288D52
CMYK: 72, 0, 42, 45
BUTTERFLY PEA
Hero Color
HEX: #8EC1EF
CMYK: 41, 19, 0, 6
HOJICHA
Background/Supporting Color
HEX: #432818
CMYK: 0, 40, 64, 74
CREAM
Background/Supporting Color
HEX: #FFFCF2
CMYK: 0, 1, 5, 0
Pop-Up Activation
Debuted at the UW Design Show with a launch event celebrating graduating design students. The cart served custom beverages formulated from student research workshops, using low-cost hospitality to invite people in and encourage lingering.
reflection
i learned and stuff