American Dream Experience

In the heart of Washington, DC, the new Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream is set within landmark buildings once synonymous with finance and civic leadership. That legacy gets a new chapter with the Center’s mission: advancing economic and social mobility through action and dialogue around education, health, financial empowerment, and entrepreneurship. While these themes often feel intimidating and out of reach, they have everyday connections that shape how we live and the opportunities we pursue. Our challenge was to reveal those connections to help visitors take ownership of their future and see their own lives reflected in the American Dream.

Across the Center’s many floors, we unleashed a mix of video and interactive installations that make these monolithic concepts manageable, working alongside our collaborators at Alice Blue. Guests can blaze their own trail through gamified adventures, connect with the personal aspirations and challenges of others, or explore the viability of the American Dream through science, data, and storytelling. Every interactive was built with inclusivity at its core, with accessible UI, assistive device integration, screen reader text, text-to-speech functionality, and multilingual options. It's a design ethos that, like the Center itself, is about access and opportunity for all.