Brown | RISD Dual Degree Students Present Capstone Projects Showcasing Personal Journeys

Video games, earth sciences, social justice, and 2D animation were just a few of the topics covered during this year’s Brown | RISD Dual Degree capstone presentations, in which graduating students showcased both their academic and personal journeys over the course of the five-year program.

Among the presenters was Ian Haut BRDD 26 IL, who studied Illustration at RISD and Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Brown. His interest in climate change began at a young age. “I genuinely believed for a little while that I wouldn't live past 30,” he said, recalling alarming messages he heard about environmental issues as a child. 

Years later when he arrived in Providence, he joined the Brown-RISD Game Developers club and found a way to combine his interests in environmental science and interactive storytelling. One of his most notable projects emerged from a Wintersession internship, in which he created a video game set in Rhode Island in the year 2100. Using OpenStreetMap data, the game visualized the impacts of sea-level rise by showing which buildings would be underwater and by how much. 

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The project blended both of his fields of study while helping define the kind of work he hopes to pursue after graduation. Looking ahead, Haut plans to continue freelance science visualization projects. When asked about his dream game, he pointed to his passion for geology. “If I weren't considering what others would find entertaining, I’d make a game about realistic geologic changes over time, like tectonic plates,” he said.

Also reflecting on her joint passions for art and building community was Kylee Hong BRDD 26 IA, who studied Interior Architecture at RISD and Adaptive Reuse and Urban Studies at Brown. “My first love was painting,” she said. “It taught me how to see and pay attention to the details around me.”

Throughout her undergraduate career, Hong focused on community-based projects. During her sophomore year, she interned at a New York architecture firm specializing in real estate development. Later, in a RISD studio focused on the intersection of habitat and social justice, she collaborated on a 27,000-sf site proposal featuring a culinary school and café, a community business incubator, and healthy, affordable housing. “This program has clarified for me my commitment to community-based development,” she says. 

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For Tiffany Huang BRDD 26 ID, who studied Industrial Design at RISD and Computer Science at Brown, the capstone presentation served as an opportunity to reflect on creative growth. A former RISD Pre-College student, Huang outlined her undergraduate experience through the Double Diamond design framework developed by the British Design Council in 2003: discovery, definition, development, and delivery.

Huang described her first year as the discovery phase through RISD’s Experimental and Foundation Studies (EFS) program, where she was introduced to industrial design and a wide range of making practices. In subsequent years, she refined her interests through woodworking, metal fabrication, machine knitting, animation, and computational design. By her final year, Huang moved into the development and delivery phases of the framework. She created various pieces of work including a small piece of jewelry that shows “how jewelry can act as a vessel for sentimentality and artifact.” 

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Printmaking major Ireoluwatoni Asojo BRDD 26 PR, who studied International and Public Affairs at Brown, spoke about history and social justice. “Stories have a way of living with us and through us,” she explained. “They help us to understand our present world and are integral to shaping our current realities.” She discussed several projects created during her time at RISD, including a print titled All American, which is about her father. The piece depicts him returning home from work and sitting outside the family home, with his figure appearing “larger than life,” emphasizing both memory and legacy.

Other presenters included Yomi Adegbile BRDD 26 IL, Rafe DiDomenico BRDD 26 PT, Amber Dong BRDD 25 SC, Saraphina Moon Forman BRDD 26 PT, Alexandra Hogue BRDD 26 IL, Dorinda Kyeremateng BRDD 26 ID, Sophia Nicogossian BRDD 26 CR, Jo Ouyang BRDD 26 PT, Beaux Salix BRDD 26 FAV, elle wall BRDD 26 FD, and Cal Waytena BRDD 26 SC. 

To learn more about this year’s dual degree graduates, visit the capstone presentations website or view them here. 

Kaylee Pugliese / Top image: Work by Kylee Hong
June 15, 2026