WonderPhone
The WonderPhones are a series of interactive storytelling machines that connect people in Downtown Dallas to the city and each other. We have combined old and new technology to allow people to listen and record stories.
The design team consisted of Justin Childress, Rickey Crum, Katie Krummeck, and Edward Li
Experiential design in downtown Dallas, Texas
Dallas is one of the largest cities in the United States, but the downtown still has areas of vacant land and buildings that are potentials for new opportunities. The WonderPhone was designed to be an experiential art instillation that would activate the vacant spots to create new awareness and memories through storytelling.
Funding Partners
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Activating Vacancy Placemaking Grant
The WonderPhone was funded by an NEA grant to support the development, fabrication, and installation of the art in downtown Dallas.
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bcWorkshop
The buildingcommunityWORKSHOP is a Texas based nonprofit community design center seeking to improve the livability and viability of communities through the practice of thoughtful design and making.
A Creative Collaboration.
The WonderPhone team was creative powerhouse of designers, engineers, and educators. We were able to imagine an innovative and new piece of technology that blended the old tech of payphones with a cutting edge computer that could record and play stories when people dialed the numbers on the phone. The following photos show some of the creative process and collaboration.
