Interpretation design: building knowledge from practice

This thesis seeks to understand the role of design in the practice of interpretation and distinguish its key characteristics as a multidisciplinary practice. Interpretation is practised in a range of contexts including heritage sites, museums and zoos and seeks to inspire, provoke and educate visitors. The content of interpretation projects may concern culture, history or the natural world. Interpretation design is the planned creation of environments that communicate information, ideas and messages to visitors. Designers seek to engage visitors through sensory, cognitive and kinaesthetic modes, visitors co- creating their experience through prior knowledge, motivations and actions. Design products include physical and sensory environments, artworks, trails and the presentation of media, objects and text in narrative, thematic or scientific arrangements. Although widely practiced, interpretation design is poorly represented within the literatures of design and interpretation and its practice is ill-defined. Interpretation designers can experience significant obstacles in practice due to a lack of client understanding and the late engagement of designers. The thesis addresses these limitations, arguing that design has the potential to play a strategic, integrative role in the development of interpretation projects. Using qualitative methods including practitioner interview and case study, the research examines the role of contracted interpretation designers and how project factors support or constrain their contribution. The research focuses on projects that interpret nature in museums and zoos, these bringing a specific set of concerns to the design process. Concepts of nature sit at the heart of such projects, nature being confined, refined and designed, yet clients rarely articulate their intended portrayal of nature to designers. The thesis articulates practitioner knowledge and presents an original typology of interpretation design outcomes. Two case studies examine the role of designers in interpretation projects. As one of the first studies in the field, this original research substantiates interpretation design as a field of practice that comprises specific knowledge and expertise, establishing a basis for further academic and practical understanding of interpretation design.