ARTCENTER SP25.
An immersive graduate exhibit in a small footprint.
- CLIENT
- ARTCENTER
- EVENT
- Spring 2025 Grad Show
- VENUE
- Pasadena Convention Center
- SCALE
- 8 × 4 ft wall booth
- ROLE
- Exhibit design · 3D visualization
A wall booth, reimagined.
For ArtCenter's Spring 2025 Grad Show, I designed a small exhibit space to present my work as an environment visitors could step into, rather than a collection of images on a wall.
The setting.
The exhibition filled the Pasadena Convention Center: a 60,000 sq. ft. space with more than 330 graduating exhibits. My area was an 8 × 4 ft wall booth within that much larger show.
Make a lasting impression.
I wanted the exhibit to stand out among hundreds of graduates and give guests an immersive experience—one that would stay with them and open the door to conversations, connections, and employment opportunities.
Looking at what came before.
I studied previous ArtCenter grad shows to see which exhibits people remembered. Many relied on plain walls and traditional displays, even when the artwork itself was strong. A few dimensional spaces made a more lasting impression.
Turn a wall into a world.
I wanted to push beyond a three-dimensional display and make the booth feel like an entire space. A sculpted roof and overhang helped break the flat outline of the wall, while the structure, lighting, and work inside tied into one theme.
Finding the form.
Early sketches and later design studies explored how the overhead structure, display wall, and visitor experience could work together.
The complete proposal.
The finished design combined a dimensional frame, portfolio displays, lighting, and a physical model into one cohesive exhibit.
Beyond the exhibition.
The show welcomed more than 10,000 attendees. My portfolio website traffic rose by 7,400% to more than 1,500 unique visits, and I received over 20 recruitment contacts, many in experiential design and theme parks.
The exhibit also led to my work on the Toho Animation booth at Anime Expo 2026 ↗.
At the grad show.
The installed exhibit brought the modeled structure and artwork into the convention center.
