Helpful Tips For Creating Interpretation Boards
The role of an interpretation board or panel is to promote a message, provide information and immerse visitors or customers at locations of interest such as wildlife parks, visitor centres, nature reserves, heritage sites, places of special interest, public parks, footpaths and walking areas. When executed well, interpretation boards can be an extremely effective way of helping visitors feel involved, informed and directed to the right places, where relevant. It’s essential to get the basics right when planning and producing an interpretation board as well as hitting the sweet spot when it comes to the placement at the site.
In this article, we discuss some tips for how to ensure that the design and location of your interpretation panel are well considered.
Get to know your visitors first
Understanding your visitor is a number one priority for creating a captivating interpretation board and market research should ideally be carried out prior to initiating the design and copy. This is the ideal way to find out what the most important aspects of the customers visit might be, and using this research is the starting point of planning. Knowing why your customers are interested in visiting and finding out what they want to discover whilst there should underpin the whole point behind any interpretation panel.
Hit the nail on the head with your message
Considering the size of your site and how many interpretation boards are required, it’s imperative that any message on the panel conveys something fascinating for the reader. Most visitors to a place of interest or tourist spot will stop to read signage but if the message is unclear, hard to read or not engaging enough, then it will feel like a waste of their time and people will walk away instead of reading it all. Make sure you employ the help of a professional writer who will create engaging copy with the right tone and style for your business or site. A good writer will take your visitors or customers on a journey with an immersive story. This is possible even where the information needs to remain factual or scientific.
Make it a thing of beauty
Using graphic designers to help with any illustration, whether starting from scratch or reworking existing photos or images will help bring your interpretation board to life. Bear in mind though that your designer will be working from a brief provided by you so it’s important that you have a clear idea of the feel, tone and appropriate age range for your board, before handing things over to them. You want your board to invite and welcome your visitors and customers in so the arrangement needs to feel utterly relevant to the people viewing it.
Placement is everything
Let’s be clear – if your interpretation board is hidden away, facing the wrong direction, in a place that is irrelevant to its message or is too far away from the visitor trail then its purpose is lost. It doesn’t matter how good your panel is. If it is in the wrong place then it won’t get seen and your visitors will be missing out on all that worthwhile, well researched written information and beautifully designed graphics that you’ve invested in. Work closely with a customer experience team for how you want your visitors journey to go and where the perfect placement of your interpretation boards will be.
Greenhouse Graphics – the people to go to for interpretation board printing
If you’re looking for sign printing in Basingstoke then look no further that Greenhouse Graphics. With sustainability at the heart of everything they do, Greenhouse Graphics provide an ethical and eco-friendly print solution for all their customers. They have been delivering design for print in Hampshire for nearly 30 years and are experts in their field. Contact them today to discuss any of your printing or design requirements.
If you would like to discuss a project, require a quote, or have any questions please get in touch! Call us on 01256 880770 or email us today at info@greenhousegraphics.co.uk