Themed Entertainment Design

Experience the electrifying, never-before-told true story of amusement parks, from the middle ages to present day, and meet the colorful (and sometimes criminal) characters who are responsible for their enchanting charms. Step right up! The Amusement Park is a rich, anecdotal history that begins nine centuries ago with the "pleasure gardens" of Europe and England and ends with the most elaborate modern parks in the world.. The parks and fairs featured include the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, Coney Island, Steeplechase Park, Dreamland, Euclid Beach Park, Cedar Point, Palisades Park, Ferrari World, Dollywood, Sea World, Six Flags Great Adventure, Universal Studios, Disney World and Disneyland, and many more.

Theme Park takes the primitive amusements of nineteenth-century pleasure gardens as its starting point and continues with an in-depth investigation of the theme park throughout the twentieth century and beyond." "Theme parks, Lukas contends, have gained a wider significance and become complex representations of the human mind itself, in books, films, feature films, video games and websites. Ultimately, their larger influence can be found in the shopping malls, branded stores and casinos that employ the tricks and techniques of theme parks to encourage loyalty and increase commerce

Since the 1980s, the theme park industry has developed into a global phenomenon, with everything from large, worldwide theme parks to countless smaller ventures. From the first pleasure gardens to the global theme park companies, this book provides an understanding of the nature and function of theme parks as spaces of entertainment. Illustrated throughout by worldwide case studies, empirical data and practical examples, the book portrays the impacts of theme parks as global competitive actors, agents of global development and cultural symbols, particularly in the context of their role in the developing experience economy.

From trade fair stands to museum concepts, the successful transfer of information to a wide public audience relies on effective staging and appropriate architectural design. While museum exhibitions focus on the art of communicating content, with commercial aspects tending to play a more subordinate role, the goal of trade fair stands and showrooms is to convey a brand image. And at least since large companies like BMW and Mercedes began introducing commercialized museum concepts designed to stage their brands, the phenomenon has come full circle. Not infrequently, planners today must not only accomplish the demanding task of designing an exhibition; they must also meet full service demands, from briefings and CI design to realization. How to do this successfully is the subject of short articles by authors from the relevant fields.

Describes the skills needed to become an exhibition designer, including: developing a brief and working with clients; design principles for graphics, circulation, lighting, and accessibility; presenting ideas to clients; and the practicalities of production. A wealth of visual material includes photographs of completed exhibitions by world-renowned designers, concept drawings, computer renderings, charts and tables of information--all for a wide range of exhibitions around the world, permanent and temporary, including museums and galleries, visitor centres, brand experiences, festivals and trade fairs.

"As the competition for tourist dollars grows more intense every year, resort and casino developers come up with myriad design strategies to draw the crowds, from the fantastically themed mega-resorts of Las Vegas to the neo-traditional riverboat casinos and their elaborate onshore party pavilions, to the dozens of Native American casinos." "The projects showcased in Casino Design range from the plastic fantastic oversized Las Vegas-theme destinations such as the Luxor, New York-New York, and Excalibur, through imaginatively designed Native American casinos led by Connecticut's Mohegan Sun as well as riverboats, island resorts, and properties in Thessaloniki, Greece; Sun City, South Africa; and Istanbul, Turkey."