What do today’s audiences expect when they step into museums, galleries and attractions? If your answer is “experiences”, you are right. 

Audiences’ tastes and expectations have changed, and museums, galleries and attractions are keenly aware of this. Many of these organisations' missions are still rooted in knowledge, whether about the world around us or their brands. However, their emphasis is now on interpreting information through experiences to stay relevant to their audiences.

How can you, as the organisation, create impactful visitor experiences that are meaningful, mesmerising and memorable for your audience, so they will return time and again, like and trust you, and tell others about you? 

I recommend taking a story-first approach. 

What makes a story?

Generally speaking, “story” is the content that your space offers. It is made up of three parts:  

• a big idea, i.e. the key takeaway for your audience

• the main themes that support the big idea

• the messages that support the themes and the big idea

I’ll use the Pharaoh exhibition, now at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, as an example. The exhibition’s big idea is that Egyptian pharaohs were all-powerful kings with immense influence on ancient Egyptian life.
The main themes are aligned with the different zones, such as “Born of the Gods” and “The King as High Priest”. One example of a message is the pharaohs claimed to be descended from the gods for the theme “Born of the Gods”. 

However, from HOL’s perspective, that is not all there is to “story”. When defining the story for a space, we also identify the emotions we want to evoke in the audience, the meaningful changes in perspectives we want to spark in them, and the actions we want them to take after leaving the space. 

If the story is told right, the audience will feel the same way we intend them to. They will open their minds to the new perspectives we show them. And they will be more inclined to take the actions we inspire in them.

The design-first approach has its risks

As an experience and engagement strategy consultant, I help museums, galleries and attractions conceptualise experiences and implement them in their spaces.

More so earlier in my career than now, I have come across organisations that “put the cart before the horse”. With a space to fill, they would quickly bring in visual and spatial designers to give the space a visual identity and carve it into “zones” – without first knowing what content would go into the space.

Visual and spatial design done well makes a fantastic first impression on any visitor. But before your story has been decided on? This approach is risky. 

The first risk is lacking a cohesive story to guide the design. The result may be a visitor experience that feels fragmented and incomplete. Secondly, these organisations risk spending even more time, money and resources on redesign, if they realise the design does not support the story they eventually want to tell. 

The good news is, discerning organisations have become more aware of the advantages of a story-first approach. 

The impact of a story-first approach

There are several good reasons why you should establish the story before designing your space. In summary, it is because you will create a more impactful and memorable experience if you have the story as your North Star. 

Consistency and focus

The story will help you maintain consistency and focus across your experience. When you lead with the story, every decision you make — whether it’s about the narrative, visual identity, spatial layout, choice of materials or interactive elements — will be based on whether it helps enhance and communicate that story. 

The experience that results will be unified and purposeful. It will be aligned with the messages you want to convey to your audience, the emotions you want them to feel, and the perspectives and actions you want to encourage them to take.

Take, for example, the Singapore’s Economic Miracle exhibition, which HOL curated and executed for the SG50 Economic and International Committee for Singapore’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

The key takeaway for the audience was that Singaporeanshad been and would continue to be the backbone of the nation’s economic success because of their grit and determination. The emotion we wanted them to feel was pride. Guided by this story, the narrative featured the personal anecdotes of ordinary Singaporeans who recounted their setbacks, resilience and successes. These anecdotes struck a chord with the audience, who as fellow Singaporeans identified with these trials and tribulations and felt proud to be Singaporean.

Deeper emotional connections

We know that a story told well keeps audiences emotionally engaged. What is less obvious to most is that we can connect with audiences even more deeply if the story is enhanced with visual, auditory or spatial design. 

Remember From Singapore to Singaporean: The Bicentennial Experience from some years ago? It was a multisensory experience that took its audience back in time to “witness” the key moments in Singapore’s transformation into a global city. 

The most poignant part of the experience was arguably the “rain enclosure” in the final act, Destiny. Visitors were given umbrellas and asked to stand in place. As they held up their umbrellas, simulated rain in the form of real water projections came down. This part of the experience recreated the rainy moments during two significant events in Singapore’s history – the 1968 National Day Parade and the funeral of the nation’s founding prime minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, in 2015. These elements were combined with soul-stirring historical video footage, multimedia and soundscapes.

This segment was the most memorable for me. There was no way this immersive, emotionally charged way of storytelling could have been pulled off if the story and its accompanying themes, messages and emotions had not been determined first. 

Starting with the story makes sure an experience can be supported and enhanced by design to resonate, engage, and leave a lasting and meaningful impression on the audience.

Resonance with your target audience

Different target audiences have different needs. If you don’t nail the story first, you may not be able to tailor your narrative, storytelling and design to meet the unique needs of specific audience groups.

Take Pip’s Trail, the digital trail HOL strategised and created for The Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. The target audience is young children visiting The Esplanade with their families or school groups.

The trail was built upon the big idea that The Esplanade offers much more beyond its performing spaces. From this story, we created a narrative in the form of a quest that would get young children excited to complete the trail by visiting different parts of the Esplanade so that they could help Pip, The Esplanade’s mascot, collect its scales. We also included a mini-game at each station so young children can play and learn at the same time. 

The story might be simple, but it inspired the narrative, games and micro-learning experiences. These storytelling elements make the trail fun and relevant for young children, so they will tell their friends and families about The Esplanade and come back again.

Final thoughts

If it is story first, then when does design come in? All that said, it does not mean you should neglect the design until the last minute. That would be unwise. The creative discussions about design should begin after the story – that is, the big idea, themes, messages, emotions and actions – have been confirmed. 

As an organisation, you want enduring relationships with your audience. You want your audience to come back for more. You want them to tell others about the experiences they had. And you want them to be your advocates. 

These relationships begin with engaging and memorable visitor experiences that move your audience’s hearts, change their minds and inspire them to take action. To achieve such experiences, you must start with the story.

 Angeline Tong is an architect of narratives and Chief Experience Officer at HOL, an experience and engagement strategy consultancy. Angeline has a Master of Education (Human Development & Psychology) from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Museum Studies from Harvard University. She currently resides in Singapore.

To contact Angeline, email atong@hol.sg