Open Day is a critical part of the
decision-making process for students who are selecting a university. The Faculty of Arts at Monash University required a complete
re-invention of their Open Day experience.

Multiple challenges were presented to HeineJones as part of this project. How would visitors find the Faculty of Arts? When they arrived what would the ‘brand story’ be? How would the complex offerings and extensive study options be presented in a meaningful and understandable way? How could a logical user experience and user journey be designed to suit the audience and a complex space? What mechanisms could be employed to create an engaging experience? How would answers to a diverse range of questions be answered with minimal staff? How would an energy, and youthfulness be presented within the context of a serious, world leading, university?

Interviews with key stakeholders conducted by HeineJones revealed and resolved the faculty’s unique brand story, study options and key selling features; and engendered an understanding of the issues faced by the faculty in previous Open Day. This allowed HeineJones to carefully craft the user journey, user experience, service design and information design. 

HeineJones took a completely new approach to the Open Day experience, developing freestanding ‘pillars’ to open up the space. A perimeter of large-scale wall panels completed the presentation. Careful design of the structure and pedestrian pathways created a controlled visitor journey – allowing a highly structured presentation of information. 

Every element of the installation was produced from lightweight, economical and recyclable materials – designed to be flat packed for transport, storage and reuse. Quick and easy assembly and disassembly was critical. The installation comprised of over 1000 components, across two campuses, all installed and deinstalled within a 48-hour window.

Over three thousand visitors easily navigated their way to the faculty, and then through the installation. University staff observed that – compared to previous years – visitors stayed for a much longer period of time, engaged more readily with staff, spent a longer period of time reading presentation materials (displays), and were generally far more enthused and dynamic in their participation. Importantly, many visitors commented with surprise at the extent and diversity of the faculty’s educational opportunities and offering – realising a major objective of the project. Key staff from the university were delighted with the result and are already anticipating involvement from HeineJones to further improve the faculty’s status and success in future Open Days.