Jacob Richardson MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2014

My PDX

My PDX is a subjective mapping and photography project about the transportation habits of Portlanders. This project explores how people interact with their environment through transportation networks and how participatory subjective cartography could change their perspective of Portland. The map is a tool inspired by the concept of topophilia, our innate love of place shaped by memories and experiences. Users record daily transportation routes and significant happenings. They enhance their sense of place and strengthen their topophilia by spatializing the memories into a tangible artifact. This collection of personalized maps, reflections, and photographs creates portraits through transportation habits, revealing different versions and varieties of experiences of Portland. This is not a wayfinding project but rather mapping as an expression of geographical emotion.

The primary tool of My PDX is a minimalist base map of Portland, Oregon, screen-printed on TyVek. It has an intentional reduction in geographic cues; only unlabeled major roads and water features are included. Users of the map must orient themselves by either drawing on past experience or referencing another source. As a proof of concept, the map was sent to thirty-two participants who were asked to document and reflect on each trip they took within the city for a week. A color-coded key and markers were provided so the participants could annotate the paths of each transportation type they took. After a week of journaling, they had a personalized map of their transportation network. Photographs were taken of each participant and displayed with their completed map in an exhibition space in order to present the concept of portrait in a variety of media. Displaying the maps and photographs together allowed comparison between the completed maps, which broadened the impact of the project from the individual participants to an audience of viewers.

Winner of the 2014 Collaborative Design Department Award

SJ Bowden MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2021

Samantha Caruthers-Knight MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2021

Betsy Lance MA Design Systems Thesis 2021

Maddy Silberger-Franek MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2022

Ameenah Carroll MA Design Systems Thesis 2022

Inbar Sharon MA Design Systems Thesis 2022

Katie Vellman MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2023

Miguel Rodriguez MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2023

Brendy Hale MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2023

Angie Wallace MFA Collaborative Design & MA Design Systems Thesis 2024

Austin Roch MFA Collaborative Design & MA Design Systems Thesis 2024

Katherine Mitchell MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2018

Amelia Bauerly MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2019

Andrew Mears MA Design Systems Thesis 2019

Ophir El-Boher MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2019

Amber Marsh MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2019

Mijounga Chang MA Design Systems Thesis 2020

Emilie Jensen MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2020

Audrey Lewis MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2020

Leah Payne MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2020

Katie Scott MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2020

Alicia Navarrette MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Jake Mcintire MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Jessica Stein MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Jessica Riehl MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Olivia Guethling CD MFA Practicum 2015

Crystal Rome MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Emilie Skytta MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2014

Peter Tichnell MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2014

Colin Cheong MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2016

Celina Coppetti Collaborative Design MFA Practicum 2017

Joel Newman Collaborative Design MFA Practicum 2017

Michelle Vorce Collaborative Design MFA Practicum 2017

Amanda Schurr Collaborative Design MFA Practicum 2017

Kailey Fry MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Alicia DeMellier MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2018

Jacob Richardson MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2014

Katie Mays CD MFA Practicum Spring 2013

Emma Conley CD MFA Practicum Spring 2013

Shannon Paine MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Melody Rowell MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2015

Luke Zimmerman MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2016

Matthew McCasland MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2016

Asa Wright MFA Collaborative Design Practicum 2016

Charlie Wilcox MFA Collaborative Design Thesis 2024