Interpretive Hall
Illustrator, Photoshop
More Info:
- Panels: There was a wide variety of panel types from large two meter species lists to smaller hunting diagrams and graphs.
- Cultural Relevancy: Because the target audience was so wide, cultural idioms and the peculiarities of translating humor were a challenge to include.
- Content: Much of the content was derived from exhaustive research by Bruce Lombardo from local men and women.
In order to highlight the Hwange area of Zimbabwe as having one of the few remaining viable populations of Painted Dogs, Painted Dog Conservation constructed a large Interpretive Hall with adjoining Painted Dog Rehabiliation Facility.
This acts as a centre of education not only for tourists but for local villages, towns, and schools as people are bussed in to the facility for the day. Bruce Lombardo, the Education Coordinator at PDC between 2002 and 2007, decided on the narrative of one dog's extraordinary life from birth to ascension to adulthood. The story of this painted dog told the story of human encroachment and the problem of conserving this rare species.
We told this story though 7 chapters represtended by large painteds and panels that reached into the painting to educate about the wider ecosystem around the dogs. This was an exacting process on a tight time table, hundreds of panels had to be created from spore charts, size comparisons, and maps to large poster sized information panels.
The area is very multi-lingual and in order to root the interpretive hall in the culture of those who it targets, the decision was made to use English and Shona on all panels and up to 5 local languages for the naming panels. All this type created a challenge to present the info without overhwelming the visitor.