Interview with an Award-Winning Designer: Alyssa Rupp

What Goes into Developing Waysides and Exhibits?

Hint: a lot of time and sweat.

Designing both waysides and exhibits tends to start with an interpreter and designer visiting the project site. This site visit is essential for soaking up information from the experts who really know the areas and stories, as well as allow us to speak with people who are passionate about their work. As a designer, I’ll be looking to understand the stories, gather design inspiration, and document site conditions to prepare for future phases like fabrication and installation. These visits tend to be intense, long days with a lot of information…

After the site visit — and after a much-needed nap — our team will start distilling and brainstorming. This is where we review the main points and objectives for the project. We’ll usually go into the concept phase. It’s called different things on different projects for different clients, but essentially you draw little hand sketches, or thumbnails as we call them. 

We say “Okay, what is the purpose of this panel?” For example, it may sound like — Here are the three topics we’re going to talk about. Here are maybe some visuals I have in my head. I’m thinking a historical picture of this monument here, or a quote from this person here.

The key to effective interpretive design is to get a solid foundation. You start by drinking from a fire hose of information, you whittle it down, you find the key talking points, figure out what really needs to be focused on, whittle it down more, put together the preliminary plan, and then execute in the design phases.

You’re basically creating a storyboard, at which point the clients are brought back in. This is where we always tell reviewers, make your biggest changes up front, because the further you get into a project, the harder it becomes to change things. So, we encourage a lot of interaction at the front-half of any interpretive project.

You’ll next move into what’s considered a schematic design phase. This is where we start actually coming up with forms for things. So for exhibits, for example, all that concepting is really just high level — here are the messages we want to convey and then what form of media best conveys that? Is it a wayside? Is it a verbal audio message? Is it a tactile? Is it some big artistic mural that takes up a floor to ceiling wall? This phase is where we start forming, finding places for all those messages to sit. 

Then, you go to the client and get feedback on it. After all of the work that goes into planning, prepping, and approvals, we finally move into the design phases. As a designer, this is where I actually get to put pen to paper, or in our case putting, you know, mouse to monitor. This is where I work with actual text and images in InDesign and puzzle everything together.

From your perspective, what are some key elements that make interpretation successful?

Ooooh, this is a hard question to bite off…

We love to say that what we create is successful when you see people pointing at it!

When you see a visitor interact with the panel and a lightbulb actually goes off on the top of their head!

We took pictures from our work at Garman Nature Preserve, for example, and you can see tourists interacting and talking about the interpretation elements. That’s a great indication that your waysides have nailed it.

Where does Accessibility Come into the Fold? 

I view accessibility as an approach for creating meaningful visitor experiences.

Using a tactile to show texture is a great start, it can look visually striking and tell a lot without using words. But there are also other things to consider, like how we can create an experience around different learning styles. This might start with plain language as not to exclude people. Depending on the project, maybe introducing languages. Maybe an auditory experience, there are even ways to introduce smells. Mounting heights and introduction of raised lettering or braille. It really depends on the project and scope.  

 It’s something we consider at every phase of a project and plan for early.

You have acted as both designer and project manager on many projects that include Indigenous stories, artwork, and partners. From your experience, how do these projects differ?

When working with Native partners, you need to take the time to listen more; especially since we are not the experts. You need to take the time to listen to the stories being told and really be open to the importance of relationships.

Where a project might normally be “here is the end product, we will provide the agreed upon rounds of edits,” communicating back and forth is even more important, and being aware that takes time to do properly. Since everything from typography, color, and symbols might have significant meaning, there is less pushing-and-pull for design choices and more trying to figure out how to incorporate elements effectively into the project as a whole.

What’s been your favorite project to date?

I have two design children! Cumberland Island National Seashore exhibits was my first time in a lead designer role. It was also just an awesome site visit. The second would be Itasca State Park Waysides because that was my first time co-managing a project. It was also 50 signs, which is so much to keep straight — you’re still trying to tell a story around each individual trail, while encompassing the overarching theme of the park. It also won the NAI Interpretive Media award, which I’m over the moon about!

See 106 Group in action — check out our new portfolio flipbook.

Page through all of our wayfinding, visitor center, and museum design projects.

Alyssa Rupp has worked extensively in graphic design and project management for wayside and exhibit projects. Alyssa finds common connections easily and enjoys collaborating with clients and stakeholders to determine the best way to speak their values and share their unique stories through design.

Ben is a proposal writer for 106 Group, with a background in copywriting and professional communications.