2 Blocks
Installation & Augmented Reality (AR) Storytelling
Connecting two parts of one city, only two blocks apart.
An experiential installation + augmented reality project highlighting the voices of youth in Cambridge, bridging the gap between Kendall Square and The Port, two distinct parts of one city, only two blocks apart.
An experiential installation + augmented reality project highlighting the voices of youth in Cambridge, bridging the gap between Kendall Square and The Port, two distinct parts of one city, only two blocks apart.
Overview & Purpose
2 Blocks was designed to bring awareness to the inequities between neighborhoods mere blocks apart; differences in educational opportunity, access to innovation, and visibility. With this project, we aimed to build empathy, foster connection, and amplify youth voices through physical installation, digital augmentation, and storytelling.
Data visualization: educational inequity in Cambridge, MA.
Role & Leadership
As Art Director, I led the creative vision and oversight for both the physical installation and AR experience. I managed the visual strategy, design details, animation, and co-creation with students. I also helped with feedback cycles and refined concepts to ensure the project was accessible, meaningful, and resonant.
Strategy & Concept
Narrative Theme: Progress, voice, proximity.
Visual Metaphor: We began with “students sitting on blocks”—but feedback indicated a sense of separation; to counter that, I adapted the design into a staircase, symbolizing inclusion, forward movement, steps toward equity.
User Experience: Physical interaction with installations + augmented reality layering via QR / Hoverlay app + audio stories.
Place & Identity: Representing local institutions (education, design, science) through student voices tied to important buildings to ground the project in its community.
An animation I created using Adobe Illustrator and After Effects representing the 2 Blocks story.
Iteration & Feedback
- Explored multiple layout prototypes and spatial arrangements (blocks vs staircase).
- Tested readability, typographic hierarchy, QR visibility.
- Integrated student and public feedback to ensure the installation felt less separated and more inviting.
Execution & Deliverables
Physical Installation: Installed in Kendall Square in May 2023; designed to be vibrant, interactive, + visible in public space.
AR Stories: Three students, each paired with a landmark building (Fletcher-Maynard Academy, MIT Museum, Broad Institute), sharing what inspires them and what they aspire to gain from those spaces.
Animations & Visuals: Created idea of text bubble animations, audio overlays, and made data visualizations showing educational inequity.
Supporting Media: Podcast, book, community events, all to elevate and share youth voices beyond the installation.
Front
Back
Impact & Reflection
This project reinforced how design can be a platform for social equity. It taught me the importance of listening: to youth, to the community, to place. The transition from blocks to stairs was more than form; it was symbolic of agency and progress.
2 Blocks currently resides in Kendall Square, Cambridge MA.
