Themed environments are key to the success of many different types of establishments, but they can be complicated projects for many establishment owners to start. At the core of this issue is understanding what a themed environment is in the first place.
Today, we’re going to walk you through the basics so you can understand what a themed environment is, some examples, and how they benefit different businesses and organizations.
Let’s get started.
What is a Themed Environment?
A themed environment is any space dedicated to a specific theme outside of the standard decor for an establishment. We’ll give more examples soon, but think of the last time you went to a museum, where they had a special exhibit for children based around the solar system.
That would be a themed environment.
Why are Themed Environments Made?
Now that we know what a themed environment is, let's delve into the two primary reasons why they are created.
First, a themed environment can offer an exciting experience that does wonders for a company’s marketing efforts. Think of a special exhibit that requires an entry fee. People see the opportunity, pay to get in, and then they typically see other parts of the business.
Then, there’s a themed environment’s ability to elicit emotions and draw people into the theme.
If an organization wants people to be emotionally and mentally affected by their visit, or to drive a message home via an awesome experience, a themed environment is the perfect way to do that.
Examples of Themed Environments
A wide variety of entities use themed environments due to how useful they are for really engaging visitors in the business or organization’s goals and messaging.
Here are some of the most common types of themed environments you’ll see.
Holiday or Religious-Themed Environments
Around the holidays, you’ll start seeing themed environments everywhere in the US.
Whether it’s Easter, Thanksgiving, Halloween, or Christmas, you’re almost guaranteed to find themed environments created by private businesses, the municipality itself, and even homeowners who create their themed environments in the backyard.
This is also commonly seen in religious organizations. At the right time, a themed environment can get visitors and members of that religious group more engaged in what’s being taught and give them a better understanding.
Think of a Christmas exhibit that walks guests through the story of Jesus Christ and tries to recreate scenes from the Bible.
Historical Environments
Have you ever gone to the home of a deceased celebrity or other famous person who is now on display? Most often, those historical buildings are turned into themed environments or at least portions of them are.
With the use of clever decorating and an in-depth understanding of what the building was like during its prime, most operators of such places try to turn the place into a sort of time machine.
This can help create an atmosphere that makes the exhibit more effective by illustrating how the historic individual lived their life, what the home or building would have been like in the past, etc.
Revenue-Generating Fun and Excitement
In many instances, themed environments might be used to engage kids, bring parents and adults back to the sense of wonder and excitement they had as children, or otherwise make something cool that encourages people to come to check it out.
From a business standpoint, designing a themed environment for corporate events is a great way to get customers in the door, make money, and hopefully, expose the business to people who otherwise wouldn’t have come in before.
Benefits of Themed Environments
Themed environments provide several benefits depending on what the themed environment is for, how well it is executed, and if you garner enough interest leading to its opening day.
When done correctly, here are some of the ways themed environments help.
1: Higher Revenue
When done for commercial reasons, themed environments can boost revenue dramatically. They give customers a reason other than simply shopping or hiring you for your services to stop by and engage with your business.
Of course, this means that the themed environment needs to provide a lot of value and impress visitors, but that’s not a difficult thing to accomplish when you have the right themed environment partner working with you.
2: Better Engagement from Visitors
Humans are extremely visual learners and love hands-on experiences that put them in the middle of something.
A themed environment provides that, and you can use it to get a message across, encourage people to spend more, elicit an emotion, or practically anything else because visitors will get more deeply engaged.
3: Accurate Recounting of History or Information
When themed environments are used for things such as religious displays, historical exhibits, or even scientific exhibits, they can help you provide a more accurate depiction of what you’re trying to teach. Words and displays can only go so far.
However, a full-themed environment truly pulls people in and helps them absorb the information better.
How are Themed Environments Made?
Besides knowing what themed environments are, it is beneficial to understand how they are made.
Themed environments can be practically anything. So, the overall process of making one depends greatly on the type of themed environment project you’re starting. However, some things are required for themed environments of all kinds.
First and foremost, you’ll want an expert on the theme’s subject matter regardless of what type of environment you’re building.
While historic, scientific, and religious-themed environments have a more obvious need for an expert to be involved, abstract projects can require it even more due to the complexity of the psychology behind themed environments. If you get it wrong, the project can be a failure.
Understanding the end goal of the project is also necessary. If you’re looking to attract new customers, educate, or elicit an emotion, knowing that ahead of time will allow you to weave that goal into the overall design of the project.
Finally, pretty much all themed environments require the extensive use of props, decorations, and architectural supplements to be effective.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know what a themed environment is if you're looking for someone who can create those environments or guide you through the process, our team at Baker Studios is dedicated to bringing your visions to life with unparalleled creativity and expertise.
Contact us today to start turning your ideas into immersive realities!