The Kalona Railroad Exhibit brings a broad historical narrative into an unusually compact setting: a vintage railcar. Stories of routes, commerce, everyday life and railroad communication unfold through graphics, dimensional scenes and hands-on activities.
I led the concept and graphic design from early development through production, collaborating on the physical exhibit elements. The challenge was to fit substantial content and varied interactions into the car while creating a connected experience with room for discovery.
The railcar’s narrow footprint, curved ceiling and existing windows shaped both the layout and the storytelling. Each section needed to accommodate its content and interactive elements while remaining part of a clear route through the space.
The introduction and route graphics establish the larger story, followed by more focused encounters with the people, goods and practices connected to railroad life. I developed a hierarchy that gives visitors an immediate entry point into each subject, with additional detail available as they look closer.
The exhibit’s richness comes from its variety: printed imagery meets dimensional façades, historical information sits alongside activities, and larger scenes give way to smaller details. The aim was to make those layers feel intentional and connected.
Plenty to discover, with a clear thread from one end of the car to the other.
The aesthetic draws on Depression-era industrial and rural references, combining historical typography, warm colors and aged surface treatments. These cues connect the different materials and formats without making every section look identical.
Printed graphics, dimensional elements and tactile activities share that visual foundation. Together, they create a continuous atmosphere from wall to wall while allowing individual stories to have their own character.
The wagon scene combines photorealistic goods imagery with a dimensional façade, merging graphic storytelling with the physical environment. Elsewhere, a Sears catalog, railcar-matching game and recipe collection offer different ways to encounter the history through familiar objects and activities.
A caboose façade, railroad communication elements and hobo glyphs extend the narrative into other aspects of life around the tracks. Each introduces a distinct subject or interaction, while the shared graphic language keeps the experience connected. There is a lot inside the car, but each element has a part to play.
The finished exhibit gives visitors multiple ways to connect with Kalona’s railroad history, from tracing routes and matching railcars to exploring recipes, goods and communication. These everyday details bring the larger story closer to the people who lived it. The railcar becomes a place to follow their curiosity—pause over an object, try an activity or discover how the railroad connected this community with the wider world.
Concept development, mood boarding, and lead graphic design
Narrative organization and information hierarchy
Interactive concept and graphic development
Environmental graphics and dimensional integration
Design development through production
Industrial design, fabrication and museum collaborators: Edwards Creative
