Bringing stories to life
Whakaorahia ngā pūrākau
We start each project by asking some basic questions:
Whose story is this to tell and who will we tell it to?
Why is it important and what makes it interesting?
What will visitors learn and how will it make them feel?
What objects, images, techniques, and types of media will help us tell this story?
From there we offer a variety of services, depending on the project:
Visitor Research and Master Planning
Through research and master planning we learn about your visitors and use that understanding to articulate the vision, objectives and themes for a visitor experience. We think about how those will be expressed in space, and what kinds of interpretation will be used. The process usually involves visitor research, stakeholder engagement, and analysing business case and economic feasibility studies, as well as:
Exploring the existing content
Spatial layout and circulation
Interpretation strategies
Delivery timetable, cost estimates and operational requirements
Visitor Research for Sharks: The Exhibition
As part of the research for our Sharks Exhibition at the Australian Museum, we talked to people at a mall near Wollongong about what they thought of sharks, and what they would like to learn about them in an exhibition. The research helped confirm people’s interest in what became one of the main strands of the exhibition - the way Pacific and indigenous Australian cultures relate to sharks.
Content Development
Once a general plan is in place, we take that plan and flesh out the individual pieces. In a museum, these may be the individual interactives within an exhibit. This process includes deciding what we want visitors to learn and researching how we will teach them.
Initial workshopping of themes with stakeholder and subject matter experts
Setting up and working with content reference groups through the project
Secondary and primary research
Image and footage research
Text and script writing and translation
He Tohu Content Development
The content for He Tohu, the exhibition of New Zealand’s founding documents, was created in close consultation with a high-powered team of historians and cultural experts over a period of years.
Spatial, Graphic and Interactive Design
We use our understanding of how visitors move and interact to design visitor pathways, wayfinding signage, and digital and physical interactives. The combination of spatial, graphic, and interactive design brings content to life. At Story Inc we are invested in making interactivity that truly engages and speaks to our audiences. We employ everything from low tech pin boards, puzzles and rubbings – right through to high tech augmented reality, immersive physical experiences, mobile wearable technology and massive scale animations.
Understanding how visitors move through spaces
Considering the whole visitor journey
Identifying pain points and pre-emptively designing solutions for them
Offering palettes of colour and materials
Kauri Museum
At Northland’s famous Kauri Museum, we designed a walkway that leads visitors physically and metaphorically into the story of the mighty kauri. Creating a clear pathway through a sculptural forest of lightbox “trees” immersed in a rich bush soundscape sets the emotional tone for the visitor experience.
Project Management and Implementation
Designing and installing visitor experiences requires complex coordination of many different inputs from the various specialist team members involved. At Story Inc, we are hands on during the installation, with experienced supervisors on site for the duration. Our team ensures that contractors are delivering on time and within budget, and manages onsite health and safety, risk registers and logistics.
Communicating with the team and client to keep everyone up to date
Liaising with vendors and subcontractors
Managing project budgets and timelines
Te Hononga Project Management and Build
We coordinated the multiple specialist contractors and community members involved installing a permanent exhibition at Te Hononga.
With not a straight wall in sight, the Hundertwasser-inspired community hub, presented us some interesting challenges!
Other Visitor Experience Consultancy
Do you run an existing visitor attraction that you would like to refresh or improve but you’re not sure how? Or perhaps you are in the early stages of formulating a concept for an experience and need help to move forward? At Story Inc we provide small and large scale consultancy services on all kinds of visitor experiences.
Current visitor experience audits
Strategic advice
Staff training
Workshop facilitation
Fundraising support
DOC Heritage Icons Consultancy
We were engaged by the Department of Conservation (DOC) to identify how the visitor experience at its heritage icon sites was, and wasn’t, working.
Our final report was based on visitor surveys and observation, site audits and other research techniques. It provided a clear assessment of, and insight into, the icon sites’ visitor experience, what could be changed, and what was working well.