Products & Services > Wayside Exhibits > Developing a Wayside Exhibit Team

Developing a Wayside Exhibit Team

The wayside staff at Harpers Ferry Center work in teams that include park personnel, fabrication contractors, illustrators, partners, and others.

  

No One-Stop Shopping

To create and maintain effective wayside exhibits requires a spectrum of talent. There is no single source in either government or the private sector that can provide everything you need to produce waysides. The wayside staff at Harpers Ferry Center work in teams that include park personnel, fabrication contractors, illustrators, partners, and others.

Below are the many roles, skills, and facilities you must secure — one way or the other — to get the job done. We group them according to functions that often come from a single source. The roles listed are not carried out in sequence. Team members’ background knowledge and responsibilities overlap, and must inform the entire creative process through good communication and coordination at the outset.

Who has the skill to take on these roles and responsibilities?

Planning

  • Assess skills and abilities necessary for the project and assemble an effective team.
  • Identify wayside needs and provide media recommendations.
  • Describe the scope of the project in detail and formulate strategies to accomplish the work.
  • Gather data on audience, site, project goals, and available resources.
  • Understand park operations and policies.
  • Articulate wayside development processes and goals for all project participants.
  • Acquire legal use rights from intellectual property owners.
  • Manage project reviews with partners using group decision-making techniques.
  • Establish a plan for team coordination and communications.

Design

  • Provide creative direction for the project.
  • Conceptualize interpretive messages and organize information.
  • Develop visual alternatives to facilitate decision making.
  • Create compelling layouts that reflect the professionalism of the organization.
  • Design physical structures that are appropriate in their environment.
  • Apply the principles and standards of universal design / accessibility. Principles of Universal Design »
  • Understand organizational identity systems and incorporate appropriately into the project. NPS Graphic Identity »
  • Do picture research / manage image files and resource materials. Graphic Resource Requirements »
  • Use advanced skills in design tools / equipment / software.
  • Create production-ready files and specifications appropriate for the panel imaging method.
  • Inspect and approve production proofs.

Writing

  • Apply storytelling skills.
  • Identify and access subject matter expertise.
  • Acquire primary source information and make it good interpretive writing.
  • Proofreading skills.
  • Knowledge of language translation processes and sources. Foreign Language Publications »

Illustration

  • Render accurate representational images that illuminate interpretive concepts.
  • Develop sketches for review and incorporate changes into final work.
  • Create professional-quality graphics that can be reproduced with current technology.

Cartography

  • Conduct site analysis to confirm geographic data and understand site conditions.
  • Research and gather primary geographic source data.
  • Create actual-size, production-ready maps for use in the outdoor environment.

Base Fabrication

  • Prepare detailed shop drawings for review.
  • Fabricate accessible wayside structures.
  • Manage shipping and installation issues.
  • Provide accurate product specifications and cost, schedule, and warranty information.
  • Replace faulty products.

Panel Imaging

  • Image graphic panels in specified materials from production-ready digital files.
  • Create quality proofs for team review.
  • Provide archival materials to facilitate long-term maintenance.
  • Provide accurate product specifications and cost, schedule, and warranty information.
  • Replace faulty products.

Contracting

  • Develop scopes of work, schedules, and cost estimates.
  • Evaluate proposals and inspect work in progress.
  • Manage the review, approval, and payment process.

Site Management

  • Host team visits to the site, and provide access to resource materials and site-related data.
  • Manage communications with neighbors / partners / local stakeholders.
  • Develop site improvement plans based on working knowledge of landscape architecture.
  • Improve the sites prior to wayside installation to provide full accessibility. Visitor Accessibility for Wayside Exhibits »
  • Manage installation of wayside structures and panels.
  • Maintain the site to ensure the vista is clear, the site is safe, and the base is in good shape.
  • Maintain the panels by cleaning on a regular basis.
  • Replace damaged panels.

Project Administration

  • Enable communication, file transfer, travel, and shipping.
  • Compile and organize data using disciplined documentation and filing skills.
  • Prepare materials for presentations and reviews.

Evaluation

  • Inform the wayside team by sharing expertise in visitor experience and learning styles.
  • Assess waysides for intended outcomes through social science research. Media Evaluation & Visitor Research »
  • Develop and apply evaluation tools and processes.
  
Author: Harpers Ferry Center
Last Updated: Thursday, 16-Jun-2005 11:37:21 Eastern Daylight Time
http://www.nps.gov/hfc/products/waysides/way-team.htm