Project Island Song is an ecological initiative to restore the Bay of Islands with native bush and birdlife. We worked with the team at Visitor Solutions to develop a comprehensive eco-tourism concept that will help make the project sustainable and accessible to the public.The project involved developed strategies across a range of media including online, micro-visitor centres, visitor activities, mobile interpretation and eco-tours.

The battlefields in the Waikato region of New Zealand are still a fresh and accessible part of New Zealand’s history. We worked with NZHPT staff and Tainui representatives to develop a multi-dimensional concept to interpret these important sites.This work includes regional micro-exhibits, online tourism strategy, mobile interpretation and sensitive sculptural components on the sites themselves.

Fyffe House is one of the oldest whaling sites in New Zealand. It is located in Kaikoura, a whale-watching tourism centre. We worked with NZHPT staff to create an elegant concept for this little cottage set on a spectacular shoreline in Kaikoura.

The experience will evoke the rugged, harsh practice of whaling in the 19th Century and also tell the story of Ngai Tahu settlement in the area. The concept involves small heritage property galleries, tactile interactives, mobile tours and sculptural components.

The Wellington i-Site is one of the first of New Zealand’s experiential i-Sites. We worked with Positively Wellington Tourism to develop a practical, fresh concept for visitors to Wellington.The existing information centre was completely re-designed to incorporate large maps, travel tips and planning tools. The approach was to create an easy to use, accessible space that supports holiday planning and sales.

The MediaXchange produced the project and created a beautiful, easy to navigate, practical experience.

The oldest earthwork building in New Zealand once housed a thriving printery in the 1840s, churning out Catholic prayer books in Te Reo for local Maori.

The concept for this experience spreads across the entire property and includes several galleries, multimedia interactives and mobile interpretation.

The first gallery is due to open to the public in mid 2011.

For each of these projects we assessed the visitor and stakeholder requirements and developed a concept strategy /funding document. The process involves a week of workshops with relevant stakeholders, visitor profile and user-persona development, and a series of creative workshops where a variety of ideas are worked through with the client.

Each of these projects is unique, as we try to create innovative, place-based concepts that do justice to the sites and the people who lived there and provide an entertaining experience for visitors. The look and feel, the materials, and the tone of each concept is specific and particular to each place. The concepts include interpretive exhibitions, web, mobile, guided tours and way-finding signage.

The Te Ahu project is a community driven initiative to create a convergent space integrating a local library, museum, i-Site and community centre. Locales worked with the Te Ahu Trust to develop the concept for the experience, due to be completed in 2011.

The project involved a detailed requirements gathering process in the Far North and consultation with a wide variety of stakeholders, including museum and library staff, council and i-site staff, and iwi representatives.

The result was a convergent approach to regional storytelling, with the Te Ahu complex working as a creative cultural hub, tourism attraction and distributor to tourism experiences in the region. The concept is being used to raise funding for the experience.

The Northland History Map provides a sweeping overview of the major places and people involved in the early interactions between European and Maori.

It is powered with a brass wheel that flies the user through Northland, stopping off at key landmarks to hear how the heritage sites throughout the north were involved in history. We use sepia-toned 3D maps, hand-drawn animation and narration to create a compelling account of history for the visitor.

The Stone Store is New Zealand’s oldest building, so to create a digital interactive device required incorporating the screen into a Georgian cabinet to suit the room. However the cabinet is infused with kowhaiwhai and koru to emphasise the Maori and European nature of the stories.

The Study Adelaide 2010 Series was a finalist for Best Online Video at The AIMIA Awards.

We have worked with The Content Agency in Sydney to create two series (2009 and 2010) of the Student Testimonial videos for Study Adelaide.

The project puts international students on camera in Adelaide so they can motivate other international students to choose Adelaide as a study destination. Telling simple stories in the first person is a technique that works well for tourism and education marketing, and the enthusiasm that these students had for living in Adelaide comes across in all their stories.

http://www.studyadelaide.com/studentexperiences/

The challenge was to create a web strategy that promoted both a region and a city as a single destination when each had separate identities and tourism strategies.

The process involved listening to a wide range of stakeholders to identify the core messages, understand the international and domestic audience and then figure out an approach based on the resources available.

We focused the site strategy on itineraries, simple campaigns and beautiful maps. The site had to represent the city and region through content and design, rather than through a well defined regional brand or advertising material. The site is also integrated with Tourism New Zealand to build on the consistency and simplicity of their product listings, and the navigation and structure is also consistent with many newzealand.com conventions to make the travel planning process easier for the visitor.

We also managed the agency selection process for the client and provided support during the site design and build.

www.hamiltonwaikato.com