The Goulburn Performing Arts Centre is now a landmark building in the heart of the community, but this storied site was home to many a character – from convicts to mayors, mechanics, bushrangers and thespians, a cast of colourful characters once roamed this site; allow us to introduce you to – ‘The Players’.
In addition to our signage and wayfinding works at the GPAC, we delivered a fun and insightful interpretive signage overlay aptly named ‘The Players’. We’re firm believers in connecting all people to place and we know too well the importance of a positive user experience, so it was a no-brainer to help breathe new life into some of the misfits, outcasts and figures that have helped shape the site into what it is today.
Analyse and interpret
Simply put interpretive signage is a communication process designed to reveal meanings and relationships of our cultural and natural heritage. It’s about weaving a narrative within an environment in a creative way that can be both engaging and informative.
Part of our process with any project is research and analysis – always approached with a high level of insightfulness. We as designers are big advocates of storytelling and Goulburn’s past delivered in spades.
An enduring past and culture
Firstly, we acknowledged the region was a historical meeting place for several Aboriginal groups throughout NSW, so we consulted and collaborated with the local Indigenous council member to ensure their story was faithfully represented within the fabric of the building, paying our respects to elder’s past, present and emerging.
The next eight players are comprised of; The War Nurse, The Trapdoor, The Mechanic, The Prisoner, The Fireman, The Mayor, The Town Clerk and of course The Citizens. To this we added The Performer representing how the sites current use represent as a continuity with the past. Each player is visually expressed in a dramatic, continuous line art over a routed black acrylic panel representative of its respective Player. A small plaque fixed beside informs the onlooker of these incredible and enduring tales in further detail, offering a series of discoverable design elements that add an extra dimension to the user journey.
The show must go on
We once (famously…) said “that there are two kinds of people in this world: those who rush past interpretive signage in a race to reach their destination, and those who are fascinated by reading tales of places past” – we hope you fall in the later and if so, you take in ‘The Players’ – now playing at Goulburn Performing arts, for a very long time.
