In Touch Tent

Personal Project

The In Touch Tent is a traveling exhibit that is intended to be set up in school yards and for kids to visit in groups of two, accompanied by a teacher. The tent is an immersive video/audio experience, that appears as simply an ambient, quiet exhibit space when you enter. Five objects on pedestals are inside the tent, and the pedestals (which are made from tree trunks painted white) invite the visitors to touch the objects. Touching or picking up the objects acts as the user interface for the exhibit content. Each object, when touched once, activates a different immersive audio/video environment. The environments are simply places in Duluth, unique perspectives or familiar places that the kids may not have had time to sit and contemplate. It’s my goal to create an experience that creates space and time for visitors to connect with their place in a new way.

The idea for the In Touch Tent was developed in a class I took this past Fall as part of my graduate work at Savannah College of Art & Design. Students were taught to unlearn their current working method of graphic design and adopt an approach based on play, collaboration and iteration. While I did not build a life-sized prototype of the In Touch Tent, I did construct a to-scale diorama to communicate the idea. This was accompanied by an animated video walkthrough of the experience through the eyes of a user. I am grateful to my professor and fellow students for contributing constructive feedback that informed this project.

The Edmund Fitzgerald: The Ship That Became a Legend

Maritime Museum

HotHouse worked with the Maritime Museum on the first large-scale exhibit on the legendary Edmund Fitzgerald. Aside from telling the story of that fateful night on Lake Superior, the exhibit focuses on the people who worked on the ship. Thanks to artist/craftsman Gordon Manary for building the signage boxes, mounting the flag, and installing all the pieces of the exhibit along with sign fabricator ShelDon.

Shipwrecks Alive!

Great Lakes Aquarium

The Shipwrecks Alive! exhibit opened at Great Lakes Aquarium on July 2nd. HotHouse worked closely with the Aquarium to design all the interpretive signage for the exhibit, along with the logo and marketing pieces, and the design of a 40 foot long photo collage and the look for the SCUBA history wall.

Shipwrecks Alive!

Logo and example of interpretive signage developed for Great Lakes Aquarium "Shipwrecks Alive!" exhibit.

Coming Soon marketing

Coming Soon poster and pull-up banner were created for Great Lakes Aquarium's "Shipwrecks Alive!" exhibit.

Exterior Banner

This large banner hangs on the exterior of Great Lakes Aquarium to advertise the exhibit.

Design concept for SCUBA History Wall

One wall of the Shipwreck's Alive exhibit is devoted to the history of SCUBA diving and wreck exploration. HotHouse designed the two-part wall layout. The two sections are joined by a case holding an antique SCUBA suit.

Interpretive Signage

Another example of the exhibit signage - this is one of a series of 11 signs that show how marine life takes over a shipwreck over time. The close-up reveals the hand-drawn marine life that HotHouse illustrated on each sign.

Exhibit Opening

Visitors enjoy the Shipwrecks Alive! exhibit at the opening on July 2nd, 2014. The SCUBA wall is featured in the background.

SCUBA History wall

This is the History of SCUBA Diving wall in the Shipwrecks Alive! exhibit.

Exhibit Entrance Wall

A dark grey wall highlights a large quote and contrasts with the vibrant blue used on other walls in the exhibit.

Photo Mural Wall

HotHouse designed this photo mural collage that recreates the wreckage landscape of the San Francisco Maru in the Pacific Ocean and surrounds the tropical fish tank.

Boat Materials Station

Artist Gordon Manary built this 3D Boat Materials Station, featuring lift-up panels showing how boat materials deteriorate in the water. Graphic panels designed by HotHouse.

Shipwrecks Alive! Opening

HotHouse enjoyed attending the Shipweck's Alive! opening. Featured in the background is the multi-panel section of the exhibit that shows how marine life grows on ships over time.

Fire, Ice & the Rise of Life

Great Lakes Aquarium

HotHouse worked closely with Great Lakes Aquarium in developing the interpretive signage for their most recent exhibit, Fire, Ice & the Rise of Life. Here are a few examples of the signage. We used the length of a human arm as a timeline from the beginning of the earth to present day.

Return to the River: The History of the St. Louis River & WLSSD

Western Lake Superior Sanitary District

Sculptor, builder and craftsman Gordon Manary installs the 3D exhibit in the lobby of the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District. HotHouse designed the permanent lobby exhibit, which tells the history of the St. Louis River and the Sanitary District. HotHouse collaborated with Manary, who built the exhibit display and created the sculptural elements of the three-dimensional timeline. The golden shovel marks the groundbreaking of the Sanitary District on a timeline that runs the length of the exhibit. Other three-dimensional objects that mark the timeline include a petrie dish featuring magnified typhoid bacteria, and a water pipe dumping pollution into the St. Louis River.