ADVANCED INTERPRETIVE PLANNING

Interpreters do translate, but we translate from the technical languages of the experts into the language of everyday people. – John Veverka, The Language of Live Interpretation

So what makes the message interpretive anyway? Well, based on what I was taught in my interpretive courses in college, reading research in the Journal of Interpretation, and conducting my own research programs and evaluations into interpretive communications, here are the five guidelines that I teach in my interpretation courses and which we use in producing our interpretive products.

1. Adhere to interpretive principles First, interpretive messages are based in their formatting and design on Freeman Tilden’s Interpretive Principles1 in that, the interpretive message (text, graphics, design) should:

•  Provoke the attention, curiosity and interest of the visitor/

audience. •  Relate to the everyday lives of the visitors. •  Reveal the main point of the message in imaginative and creative ways. •  Address the whole – have the interpretation help to illustrate the main interpretive theme of the site. •  Strive for message unity – in design, use of graphics, colors,

fonts, etc. The message presentation must “fit in” to the story it is helping to illustrate.

10 | Interpretive Basics: When is “Interpretation” not Interpretation?