This design project centered around developing an experience across multiple touchpoints to create a new market opening for a consumer group not typically drawn in by a company of our choosing. As a train enthusiast who doesn’t fit the typical mold of being either “8 or 80” it’s apparent that I’m often the only person in my demographic represented at events. And while it’s unlikely to get the average young adult excited to learn about the history of rail gauge standardization or how the relative size of smokestacks can indicate the type of fuel used by a locomotive, this project outlines a way to use a seasonal event to draw in an atypical demographic.
The California State Railroad Museum already produces a popular seasonal event—The Polar Express Experience. With this event being geared towards families with young children, it wouldn’t be creating competition for an event aimed at an older audience. The goal was to create an experience for an audience of young adults who would enjoy an immersive, themed event with a more mature subject matter.
Many aspects of this experience were new territory for me. From product design to wayfinding to very premise of this experience, I had a lot to research before I could start the project. Fortunately, as stated earlier, I happen to love research and this project proved to be a wonderful learning experience. The freedom to create any experience I wanted gave me an opportunity to create an experience that combined multiple passions of mine, including history, performing, storytelling, and of course, gold ole murder mysteries.
With the museum already having an existing event geared towards families with young children, I wanted to create an experience for an audience of young adults who would enjoy an immersive, themed event with a more mature theme. Additionally, this specific event would to great interest in a group outside the regular patrons for the museum.