Capstone Project

I have a great fascination with fungi and the part they play in the natural cycle. Yet, many people rarely consider these organisms until they show up uninvited on their pizza. Combating this lack of knowledge intrigued me. Classically, classrooms or museums are the places of “learning new things”. Yet, once out of schooling, a place where we still learn new things are stores. Stores do their best to educate the public about their product and why they matter. I wondered, if a company making fungi-based products was trying to overcome the public’s perception or lack of, for their product, what would be the best way to educate while still engaging people and have them retain that knowledge afterward?

Exploring that line of thinking, I found that immersive environments offer a high potential for long-term memory retention while being extremely compelling. Through my research, I developed a framework for creating immersive environments and to judge their effectiveness. With that framework, I began concepting a retail flagship location specializing in fungi-based products that utilized the power of immersive environments and play-based interactives to create a deeper understanding and an unforgettable experience for each customer.