kidswork Children’s museum

Title
Graphic Designer, L3DFX

Tools
Adobe CC, Epson SC80600

Scope
Creative Direction
Layout Design
Documentation
Print Production
Large Format Print
Vinyl Application

Overview

A new children’s museum was opening in New Lenox, IL, and L3DFX was their chosen partner in fully concepting, fabricating, and installing all exhibits and elements

My Role

This was one of my first projects after being hired by L3DFX. The initial scope and concept for all exhibits had been decided before my involvement, so I got to focus on creative direction and production of all printed materials. This included wayfinding, exhibit signage, decorative touches, and wall vinyl.

Research and Design System

I’d never designed for a specifically child-focused exhibit before, so I found resources to determine ideal view heights and accessibility concerns to develop initial guidelines for all layouts moving forward.

Wayfinding

Next up, I designed the facility map and general way finding signage to help orient visitors into the space.

Country signs have built-in speakers. When buttons are pressed next to each of a set of four simple phrases, a voice will read out those phrases in the country’s official language.

A set of 3D characters were created by an outside vendor, to be used on signage in different key areas of the museum, giving children faces to relate to, and an understanding of what made these areas special.

Exhibit Signage

I created signage to accompany interactive exhibits, including many custom illustrations. All such signage was bilingual English/Spanish. Initial layouts were created using Google Translate, with the client ultimately being responsible for proofing and approving all Spanish text.

Wall Art

Many rooms had full wall graphics to enhance the space.

Documentation

Installers were hired to apply wall vinyl in multiple rooms of the museum. I created documentation for all installation, with a consistent naming matrix to make referring to any problems or questions as simple as possible.