Substantiation
The design of the final attraction involved several stages of research. An attraction is more than just an interesting interaction, I conducted a study to find a suitable theme and involve children in the design process. To start, I created a narrative in the shape of a short comic to explore and evaluate the ‘laboratory’ theme.
There were still some doubts about the laboratory theme and I decided to compare it with ‘the factory’. Since children get most of their ideas about these themes from the media, I conducted a media study. To test the suitability of both themes, I conducted a series of drawing sessions with children to find out about their imaginative capabilities with both themes. This resulted in the selection of ‘the factory’. The factory theme has a higher cultural relevance to the region in which the park will be built which was also a benefit.
After the factory theme was selected, I visited a technology museum, a functional factory and a renovated iron casting factory building. These actions helped me to establish a form language that makes use of the stereotypes. To keep the form language interesting, I made use of contrasts between warm and cold and between old industrial and futuristic styling.
The attraction will only be a success when it fits smoothly in the context of the park. The ‘BillyBird Philosophy’ is all about experiencing active fun together. Activity and togetherness need to be promoted by the offered attractions. A literature study on these subjects was conducted on how to motivate people to work together in the creation of music. Several theories were combined to find guidelines for designing an interactive experience that meets the park goals. Read all about it in the report.