Oakwood prepares for flying start

Oakwood 3D has designed a new exhibition for the Fleet Air Arm Museum in Yeovilton, Somerset. Entitled Projecting Power – The Fleet Air Arm in Action, the exhibition will open in the summer.

The consultancy, which commanded a fee of £50 000, was briefed to update visitors on the humanitarian activities that the Fleet Air Arm has pursued since the Second World War.

Projecting Power will consist of six ‘insight zones’, each featuring information, graphics and artefacts. The zones divide by theme (such as disaster relief and global operations), rather than event chronology, to allow a more flexible approach.

The design was led by director Damian Aldred and creative director Peter McHale and overseen by Neil Sims, a company partner. The aim was to keep the layout of the exhibition user-friendly to avoid ‘museum fatigue’, says Sims.

‘The biggest danger was providing too much information,’ he says. ‘You’ve got a broad mix of visitors, from ex-servicemen to school parties, so we’ve kept the signposting simple and clearly colour-coded.

‘People’s interest will vary greatly, so we decided to provide two levels of information: a brief overview of Fleet Air Arm activities, and a more detailed level for visitors pausing at the various zones.’

Oakwood 3D won the appointment following a five-way unpaid creative pitch in January.