CLIENT: ART + WELLNESS ENTERPRISES
COMPANY: BASIC/DEPT®
Crystal Bridges Campus
A digital companion for Crystal Bridges Campus — Alice Walton’s visionary art and wellness destination that, among other things, houses a medical school and museum side by side. Where visitors can explore art, architecture, trails, nature, programming and events, all designed to foster whole health and well-being. The goal? Drive awareness, and help the campus reach 2M annual visitors by 2026.
In parallel, we designed and launched the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine site for its inaugural class in summer 2025.
Challenge & objective.
Most people know Crystal Bridges for its museum, but the campus holds much more—wellness programs, a medical school, outdoor art, trails, and cultural events. Visitors often had no idea what they were missing.
We set out to design a digital companion that would guide visitors on-site and inspire remote users, make exploration effortless across the campus’ many sides, and drive repeat visits, event ticket sales, and memberships.
Role.
I drove product strategy and design 0 to 1, shaping the roadmap, pressure-testing feasibility with engineering, weaving in user research, leading a team of designers, and staying tightly aligned with PM to keep everything on track.
I mapped the whole product arc—8 signature features, 22 core functions, and 10 future bets—plotting what made MVP, how features would evolve after launch, and when future bets would kick in. The app was fully designed, but did not move into build.
Results.
Final designs brought the campus to life with an event-centric homepage, an interactive map for intuitive wayfinding, a discovery feed surfacing hidden gems, wellness breaks that encouraged moments off-screen, and save-and-plan tools to deepen visits and spark curiosity from afar.
Even without a build, this year-long engagement pushed the boundaries of what a cultural + wellness companion app could be.
The concept positioned Crystal Bridges as a cultural and well-being destination unlike anywhere else.