landscape and heritage
Visual stories for visitors
Klaas, we would prefer to welcome every visitor personally.
Ha yes, like a welcoming guide.
24/7, preferably. You can’t pull that off using volunteers only.
Then we’ll make an information display, right?
But we have much more to say than we have room for.
I feel your pain, your area is wildly interesting.
The solution is quite simple.
Please, tell me.
You ask experts for content. They come up with a Word document and a gigabyte of photos. Feels like, ‘we want this all in there, now it’s your turn’.
Pff, my own fault. I asked them to.
You listen to the people with the most knowledge. That’s excellent. But out in the field, the visitor is boss. What is she curious about? What does she already know? Is she with an impatient group?
So you’d better start with that visitor.
What about my experts?
Their knowledge is indispensable. We go visit the location, that’s when their stories come out in plain language. Then I take a sheet of paper and draw a rectangle. ‘Look, this is what the visitor sees,’ I then say.
Then everyone starts talking, panicking, you know.
I know. Choosing what to put on display is difficult. I open the ball with a proposal. A visual story with a thread and a recognizable form. Such a proposal raises questions. Do we have 3 or 5 subtopics? Is the landscape depicted realistically or simplified? What do we actually call that one space?
Questions we resolve quickly because I show the consequences immediately. That reassures everyone, even the stauntest experts.
Everyone happy?
Yes, especially the visitors. Good information makes visitors to landscape and heritage look more closely. They stay longer, they become donors. Even the adolescent in the group says “pretty much,” when you ask if he liked it.
Bluff!
Okay, the adolescent thing is bluff. But we need to be ambitious when it comes to spreading your knowledge, shouldn’t we?
work
information panels
The godwit and the facts
Visit the landscape with farmer Kees and ecologist Mark. One wants a balanced story about meadowland birds. Where do you start?
booklet
Here beauty flows
A very deep dive into the landscape of Unesco Global Geopark Scheldt Delta. Is it really necessary, to walk 593 kilometers to pick up twelve stories? Yes. Be as close to the subject as possible.
fine illustrations
Ten doors in a lock
Heritage that everyone takes care of because they know how special it is. With the dry humor of the lock master.
“Klaas created an informative and special information panel about the Waaiersluis in Gouda with us. A beautiful piece of work that we are very happy with.”
Cathelijne van Haselen
Environmental manager at Hoogheemraadschap De Stichtse Rijnlanden
“Vogelbescherming Nederland works with land managers and farmers to protect meadowland birds. A tricky subject, but Klaas cleverly solved it by showing farmers and birds as users of the same landscape. More importantly, the panels look great, are robustly designed and stand out nicely so that they invite close inspection.“
Celine Roodhart
As Project Leader Vogelbescherming Nederland
“Klaas created a map of the library for us, and two infographics about our collection and international relations. Smooth collaboration. Our two directors were immediate fans of the infographics, and the puzzle that such a floor plan is, Klaas was happy to solve. It’s useful in all sorts of ways, moreover.”
Annemiek te Stroete
Communications officer Content at the RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History
“We liked working with Klaas so much that we were happy to return with other educational projects. Klaas’ solutions are surprising and natural at the same time. He understands the art of translating an idea or learning objective into a product that invites experimentation and learning by doing.”
Vibeke Roeper
Director at Plein C, heritage education
About stories for visitors
science
Geology and ecology, visible. A great opportunity to give these sciences a wider audience.
heritage
Heritage is just old stuff, unless you understand what you see. Four steps to get the educational story to the (young) reader.
floor plans
Google shows you the way. But that the place is nice and atmospheric you can only see on a special floorplan.
The identity of your place.
