The project prompt was to reframe the ICA as “the most creative intersection in the city,” using the Markel Center as a site of visibility, movement, and exchange. In response, I developed a visual identity system rooted in intersubjectivity, the idea that meaning is formed through shared experience and interaction. The system positions the ICA as a crossroads of many crossroads, a place where people, perspectives, and creative disciplines move through and shape one another. This direction was imagined as a summer activation, bringing a sense of greenery and relief into the downtown environment. Downtown spaces can often feel overly concrete and estranged from softer forms of public life, so this direction reimagines the ICA as a shared backyard, a familiar and accessible space grounded in a sense of informal community.

The project prompt was to create a mini campaign for Abby Moore Café based on research showing that VCU’s Gen Z students are seeking deeper community connection and craving “third spaces.” In response, I developed First Is On Us, a campaign centered on the gesture of a first coffee being offered by the ICA as a small welcome gesture at the start of an overwhelming semester. Rather than treating free coffee as a simple giveaway, the campaign reframes it as a meaningful incentive for students navigating rising costs, limited resources, and a desire for spaces that prioritize accessibility and connection. Free coffee functions as the entry point, while the café becomes a habit space that builds familiarity and ongoing relationships with the museum. Inspired by the romanticization of coffee culture and a return to analog connection, the campaign positions the café as a place to pause, meet, and belong.