Aki is Vice President and Chief Creative Officer at RAA. She is a lead voice in planning and design, creating spaces at the intersection of ideas and public life.

Highlight projects include the Obama Presidential Center Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the American LGBTQ+ Museum, the Japanese American National Museum, and the Museum of the Moving Image.

Obama Presidential Center, Chicago, IL: Exhibitions exploring the Obamas’ stories, values, and leadership to inspire civic action. Image: Obama Foundation

Obama Presidential Center, Chicago, IL: Exhibitions exploring the Obamas’ stories, values, and leadership to inspire civic action. Image: Obama Foundation

Obama Presidential Center, Chicago, IL: Exhibitions exploring the Obamas’ stories, values, and leadership to inspire civic action. Image: Obama Foundation

Obama Presidential Center, Chicago, IL: Exhibitions exploring the Obamas’ stories, values, and leadership to inspire civic action. Image: Obama Foundation

Obama Presidential Center, Chicago, IL: Exhibitions exploring the Obamas’ stories, values, and leadership to inspire civic action. Image: Obama Foundation

Obama Presidential Center, Chicago, IL: Exhibitions exploring the Obamas’ stories, values, and leadership to inspire civic action. Image: Obama Foundation

National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, DC: 80,000sf exhibition telling 400 years of African American history as central to America’s story. Image: Ron Blunt

National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, DC: 80,000sf exhibition telling 400 years of African American history as central to America’s story. Image: Ron Blunt

National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, DC: 80,000sf exhibition telling 400 years of African American history as central to America’s story. Image: Ron Blunt

National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, DC: 80,000sf exhibition telling 400 years of African American history as central to America’s story. Image: Ron Blunt

International African American Museum, Charleston, SC: Exhibitions exploring African diasporic history, culture, resistance, resilience, and justice. Image: ESTO

International African American Museum, Charleston, SC: Exhibitions exploring African diasporic history, culture, resistance, resilience, and justice. Image: ESTO

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati, OH: Exhibition exploring Cincinnati’s Ohio River location as a crossroads of freedom and enslavement. Image: Phil Armstrong

National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Cincinnati, OH: Exhibition exploring Cincinnati’s Ohio River location as a crossroads of freedom and enslavement. Image: Phil Armstrong

Nelson Mandela Day, New York, NY: Installation celebrating Mandela’s legacy and inviting acts of kindness. Image: ESTO

Nelson Mandela Day, New York, NY: Installation celebrating Mandela’s legacy and inviting acts of kindness. Image: ESTO

Freedom Rides Museum, Montgomery, AL: Exhibition honoring the Freedom Riders’ courage and legacy of justice. Image: Freedom Rides Museum

Freedom Rides Museum, Montgomery, AL: Exhibition honoring the Freedom Riders’ courage and legacy of justice. Image: Freedom Rides Museum

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI: Exhibitions rooted in Native perspectives on Hawaiian and Pacific histories, cultures, and traditions. Image: Linny Morris

Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI: Exhibitions rooted in Native perspectives on Hawaiian and Pacific histories, cultures, and traditions. Image: Linny Morris

Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, CA: Exhibitions connecting Japanese American history to identity, belonging, democracy, and justice. Render: RAA

Japanese American National Museum, Los Angeles, CA: Exhibitions connecting Japanese American history to identity, belonging, democracy, and justice. Render: RAA

The Hip Hop Museum, Bronx, NY: A museum experience celebrating hip hop’s Bronx origins and global cultural influence. Render: RAA

The Hip Hop Museum, Bronx, NY: A museum experience celebrating hip hop’s Bronx origins and global cultural influence. Render: RAA

About

As a creative leader, Aki brings strategic vision and cultural sensitivity to the development of national and international cultural institutions, with a focus on issues- and mission-based projects. Her past and current work tells important stories of history and leadership, often addressing social impact and community.

Her commitment to public learning extends beyond her design practice through leadership, mentorship, and community-building across the design and cultural sectors.

  • With over 20 years of experience at Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA), the world’s largest multidisciplinary design studio for museums and narrative environments, Aki guides the development of content- and artifact-rich museum environments, as well as branded experiences for organizations of varying scales. Collaborating with designers, artists, community, curators, scholars, directors, and executives, she shapes compelling narratives that engage the public through environmental and interactive design. Select projects include:

    American LGBTQ+ Museum / New York, NY

    Armenian American Museum and Cultural Center / Los Angeles, CA

    Biden Presidential Library / Delaware

    Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center / Seattle, WA

    Clinton Presidential Center / Little Rock, AR

    Founders Memorial / Singapore

    Freedom Rides Museum / Montgomery, AL

    Bernice Paul Bishop Museum / Honolulu, HI

    International African American Museum / Charleston, SC

    International Slavery Museum / Liverpool, UK

    Japanese American National Museum / Los Angeles, CA

    Liberty Memorial National WWI Museum / Kansas City, MO

    Museum of Civil Rights / New York, NY

    Museum of the Moving Image / Queens, NY

    Museum of the City of New York / New York, NY

    National Museum of African American History and Culture / Washington, DC

    National Underground Railroad Freedom Center / Cincinnati, OH

    National Women's History Museum / Washington, DC

    Nationwide Children's Hospital / Columbus, OH

    Nelson Mandela Day / Grand Central Terminal, New York, NY

    Obama Presidential Center Museum / Chicago, IL

    RxArt Installations / Nationwide U.S.

    Samsung World Headquarters / Seoul, Korea

    Songdo City / Seoul, Korea

    Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy / Lancaster, PA

    The Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center / Monrovia, Liberia

    The Hip Hop Museum / New York, NY

  • Aki currently serves as SEGD National Board President and has advised professional design organizations across the design and cultural sectors. She is an Editorial Advisor for the AAM Exhibition journal and has served as a juror for design awards, including the Fast Company Innovation by Design Awards and Communication Arts Design Competition.

    She co-founded the BIPOC Directors Collective, a community dedicated to empowering current and future Directors of Color, and is a founding member and Creative Director of Ripple Effect, a New Orleans-based start-up focused on educating K-12 students about climate change and socio-ecological issues.

  • FutureSpaces, “Designing the Civic Life We Inherit”

    International Design Day (ICoD), Theme Committee Chair, and Guest Speaker “Designing at Historic Scale with Aki Carpenter”

    Building Museums, “Space + Story + Stewardship”

    REMIX Summit London, Speaker

    Blooloop 50 Museum Influencer, Power 10

    The New York Times Creative Department, “Telling the Unvarnished Truth,” Guest Speaker

    The Art Pod, Episode 32: Aki Carpenter

    “Designing History: The National Museum of African American History and Culture,” Discussion with Davis Brody Bond and HGA, Washington, DC

    SEGD, “Designers Elevating Untold Narratives”

    Spotify Outside Voices, Season 2, Featured Creative

    Obama Foundation Summit, Speaker, Chicago, Illinois

    Fast Company, “How the exhibit designer behind the Obama Presidential Center captures the attention of children and adults alike”

  • Thea Award

    SEGD Global Design Award

    Fast Company Innovation by Design Award

    GOOD DESIGN Award

    IDSA IDEA Award

    Red Dot Design Award

    Dezeen Award

    Graphis Design Annual

    Communication Arts Design Annual

    Blooloop Innovation Award