20 Questions with Amanda McKenzie, Imagine Exhibitions’ new Creative Director!

Imagine Exhibitions is thrilled to be welcoming Amanda McKenzie to the team as our new Creative Director. Amanda is an incredible asset to the Imagine team of the experts behind the experience, who will bring her strategic, thoughtful, and innovative approach to design to bear across all of Imagine’s current and future projects. Amanda will leverage her extensive experience in interior, environmental, and graphic design to lead the exhibition design processes for Imagine’s growing portfolio of immersive experiences, interactive experiences, and traveling exhibitions. Amanda has had a longstanding relationship with Imagine Exhibitions and has contributed to and collaborated on a number of our exhibitions and experiences including Real Bodies, Discover Steampunk, Survival: The Exhibition, Jurassic World: The Exhibition, and more as the leader of her own design consulting practice. She now joins the team full-time in a new executive leadership role where she will be building, expanding, and elevating the Imagine in-house design studio into the next phase of our company’s growth!

Amanda’s process is based in collaboration at every stage of a project. If you are a client or partner of Imagine Exhibitions, you likely will be working with Amanda closely in the future. So, we wanted to help you get to know her with a quick round of 20 questions.

20 Questions with Amanda McKenzie:

Coffee or Tea?
Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon.

Where did you grow up?
I’m from a small town in Northeast Ohio and studied interior design and branded environments at the Cleveland Institute of Art. My mother is an artist and my dad was in finance before his retirement. I feel very fortunate to have been instilled with their two different perspectives on the world: the creative side and the analytical.

What inspires you?
Everything! I’ve always felt it’s important for designers to look beyond our profession for inspiration. The cross-pollination of ideas, perspectives, and disciplines can lead to something completely new and innovative. We live, work, and play in a global community. Listening to other points-of-view and experiences informs who we are, and ultimately, the work we put into the world.

If you could have any super power, what would it be?
Time-travel, so I can spend more time with all the things I enjoy most: design, artwork, and my family.

Where is the coolest place you’ve ever traveled to?
I lived in a small fishing village on an island in Maine about five years ago for about a month. I was consulting at the time, so my motto was “have laptop (and sketchbook), will travel.” Stonington in June is both vibrant and peaceful. It ebbs and flows with the rhythms of a working fishing community. When I wasn’t working from my little seaside cottage, I kayaked to and from the local lobster center for lunch, spent time sketching the town and surrounding wildlife preserves, and got to know my neighbors and the history of the island. Leaving behind possessions and living more minimally changed my perspective on what I deem necessary for happiness. That holds true for my design philosophy as well. A fresh point-of-view can completely reframe a design problem for the better.

Dogs or cats?
Golden retrievers.

Would you rather be on a beach, on a mountain, or by a lake?
Can I choose a beach by an alpine lake?

What do you love most about design?
Design has transformative power. It inspires change, engages communities, and can influence and encourage meaningful connections between people and experiences. No two projects are alike, but every project presents the opportunity to inspire, innovate, and invite people to experience something unexpected and new.

Have you developed any new hobbies during COVID-19?
All this time at home has given me opportunities to explore different ways of making. I love the act of creating, in all the forms, media, and processes it may take. I’ve been returning to familiar techniques, like pencil and painting and trying new things like needlework and collage. Does gardening count as creative work? Fresh veggies might be my new favorite reward for creating.

Favorite exhibition in Imagine’s portfolio:
Dino Safari is my latest favorite Imagine exhibition. After months of quarantining and social distancing, everyone is hungry for new experiences. Dino Safari is a great—and safe—way to get outside, have fun, and learn something new with the whole family.

What is your Wizarding World house, patronus, and wand?
Ravenclaw, white swan, and an ash wand with a unicorn hair core.

What is your go-to snack?
Snap peas, green beans, and tomatoes from my garden. I’m hoping for some radishes and beets this spring.

What do you listen to while you work?
I collect classical records, so there’s usually a bit of Bach or Beethoven on my turntable.

When you hit a creative block, what do you do to break through it?
I got totally stuck on this question. Couldn’t think of anything.

Favorite dinosaur:
Archaeopteryx is my favorite dinosaur. It’s a such a fascinating link in evolutionary history.

Cake or pie?
Maine blueberry pie from Stonington.

At what store would you choose to max out your credit card?
None. My dad was in finance. But if I had to…Sam Flax Art Supplies in Atlanta.

One prediction you have for the future of experience design:
Experience design will become more participatory and personalized in the near future. Audiences and visitors expect customization and opportunities to feel like they are a part of the experience. That sense of agency, engagement, and collaborative storytelling can form powerful connections between brands and people that will bring visitors back to experiences again and again.

What was the first concert you went to, and what was the last concert you went to before the COVID shutdown?
This wasn’t my first concert, but it was a bucket-list show: I was front and center at a Prince concert in a small venue in Denver a few years ago. The last concert before lockdown: the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra performed Beethoven’s Ninth. Much better than my Beethoven collection on vinyl.

What is your favorite illustration tool?
A pencil—I can take it anywhere, and you never know where inspiration may come from.