Do Si Do Dance Hall

In this era, community, tradition and human connections have been tossed aside to make room for the digital world. I noticed a need for a modern-day space and tradition allowing people to reconnect with their surroundings while evoking the basic senses of touch, sight and hearing. The Do Si Do Dance Hall yields a proposed analogue popup dance hall in Richmond, a modern take on traditional contra-dance attire, and a mobile application providing dance information and pairing users based on experience level. The ultimate goal is to help re-establish a vital sense of community, tradition and human connection.

The final model with branding.

The final app design.

I began by researching imagery of dance halls, the history or contra dancing specifically, and reaching out to friends of mine who contra dance regularly. After my research, I decided the outcomes would be a mobile dance hall model which would allow people to experience contra dancing, an app, a proposed fashion line, and an identity book to serve as a guide for the brand standards. Then I started brainstorming iconography and imagery for the branding.

Some of my beginning research and sketches for the proposed fashion line.

I made thumbnail sketches of the iconography and general feel of the app design.

I sketched iconography and laid out a sample poster advertising the event which would go in my identity book.

I documented my process along the way and bound it in this 11x17" rotating booklet.

I developed marketing assets like stickers which would go in the identity book.

The final identity book.

Detailed photo of the mobile dance hall model.

A representation of how the dance hall may look if it was implemented in the city of Richmond.

This project was selected to display in an exhibition at the biennial Tasmeem Art & Design Conference in Doha, Qatar in March of 2017. This is a photo of the display.

A photo from the Tasmeem exhibition.

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