The Huntington: Sargent Claude Johnson Exhibit
 

Project Type: Cultural Exhibition · Experience Architecture & Inclusive Engagement Framework

Role: Experience Strategist & Evaluation Lead 

The Ask

Reintroduce pioneering African American modernist Sargent Claude Johnson to contemporary audiences, balancing art historical rigor with inclusivity.

The Idea

Design an inclusive experience framework that honored Johnson’s legacy while embedding belonging, accessibility, and multigenerational engagement into spatial and interpretive strategy.

Experience Architecture

• Narrative Spine: Positioned Johnson within both American modernism and African American cultural history
• Visitor Outcomes: Belonging, clarity, reflection, cross-generational accessibility
• Spatial Logic: Clear wayfinding and pacing to support emotional progression
• Measurement Model: Integrated evaluation to track emotional resonance and interpretive comprehension
  

The Solution

• Narrative Architecture: Defined Johnson’s placement within modernism and African American heritage to anchor spatial storytelling.
• Spatial-Optimization: Designed pacing and wayfinding to support clarity, dwell, and reflective engagement.
  
• Integrated Evaluation: Embedded qualitative and quantitative tools to measure both emotional resonance and interpretive understanding.

Impact

• Increased visitor satisfaction by 18% and dwell time by 30%.
• 92% of visitors reported meaningful engagement.
• Advanced institutional goals around inclusive cultural representation and audience expansion

This project demonstrated how inclusive narrative strategy can function as measurable experience infrastructure within cultural institutions.

Services
Experience Strategy | Audience Research | Interpretive Design | Cultural Evaluation