CASE STUDY

American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture

Client American Writers Museum

Location Chicago, IL

Date Completed November 2025

Overview

Trivium worked with the American Writers Museum to develop experiences for the museum's new temporary exhibit, American Prophets: Writers, Religion, and Culture. One immersive projected experience covers three walls of the museum's rotating Writer's Room gallery with large-scale visuals of waves, forest paths, and other natural sites, paired with narrated quotes from influential authors speaking to the concept of spiritual places. The scenery encourages visitors to reflect on how American writers have explored spirituality in their work.

Two fun interactive touchscreens enable visitors to learn about how religion and spirituality have shaped American comedy and science fiction. One has a user interface designed to look like a streaming service, and the other functions like a poster flip rack at a comic book store. They invite guests to browse clips and discover new perspectives on iconic American media.

Challenges

A key challenge was designing unique user interfaces inspired by the exhibit content that felt playful, visually engaging, and seamlessly integrated with the overall exhibition design. To accomplish this, our team took inspiration from familiar pop culture experiences like browsing through posters at a comic store, or searching through options on a media streaming service. Throughout the gallery, writers’ quotes are integrated into scenes of America’s unique natural and urban environments in surprising and engaging ways, encouraging visitors to reflect on the connections between literature, spirituality, and everyday life.

In addition, Trivium's team was tasked with developing a culminating experience at the conclusion of the visitor journey that would feel immersive, inspirational and contemplative, leaving visitors with a meaningful and lasting impression. Stock footage and film were used creatively to build a projected film experience that created a “wow” moment within our budget.