Connecting people with Clear Creek

A productive salmon stream prior to development, Clear Creek’s natural floodplain and habitat functions were severely constrained over time. Kitsap County’s many restoration initiatives included adding 500 feet of new stream channel and restoring acres of floodplain and riparian habitat. To communicate the Clear Creek Restoration Project’s value to local citizens, Watershed and Kitsap County Public Works collaborated on a series of waysides along Clear Creek Trail. Designs were based on the County’s existing interpretive planning efforts.

Kistap County developed a comprehensive interpretive plan for the site prior to partnering with us. With a clear idea of the interpretive goals, audiences, themes and stories to communicate, and unique resources to be interpreted, the design process moved very efficiently.

The County’s goals for interpretation at this site included:

• Inspire individual responsibility to care for surrounding natural resources
• Inspire public confidence in the value and necessity of the County's projects
• Connect users with the benefits of green spaces and ecosystems to human health
• Encourage trail users to explore the entire system

Audiences include trail users, families, dog-walkers, and volunteers. The County hoped that interpretation could also attract new groups, like birders and nature photographers. Themes and stories needed to revolve around the benefits of creek restoration and human capacity to make this happen, and the history and ecology of the site.

We now had a big-picture understanding of the site and what interpretation needed to accomplish. It was time to develop ideas for how text, visuals, and other media might work together to communicate key messages. This 30% completed design shows an interactive wheel that lets visitors “lower the water in the floodplain” to reveal how floods impact the land. Our designers can create these mock-ups fairly quickly, allowing clients and their audiences to give feedback before moving into more detailed work.

After receiving feedback from our client, we moved into 50% design; then 70%. A note on design phases: they vary per project. For smaller projects, we may just check in with the client one time. Clear Creek was more complex—involving many illustrations, tactile elements, a kiosk, and more—so we set up several phases to make sure there was plenty of room for feedback and revisions. Compare our 30% mock-up of this panel about stream ecology to the 70% complete version. As we developed the visitor experience, we decided to make tactile rubbing plates of different aquatic insects so that people could “collect” the bugs. (See the white circular placeholders.)

With every comma and brush-stroke in place, we make sure everything is prepared for final printing and manufacturing. Check out the progression of this wingspan graphic from 70% (still missing some feathers), to ready-to-print, to final installation.

"Watershed always seems to take our basic ideas and turn them into something amazing.” - Michelle Perdue