Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts

Bequeathed to the people of Tasmania in 1965 as a memorial to the Allport family, the collections housed in the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts give great insights into Tasmania’s history of European settlement.

When we were commissioned to provide new interpretation for the museum, our first aim was to make entry to the Allport space more visually prominent, attracting the interest of people visiting adjacent sections of the State Library of Tasmania, letting them know that entry is free and that they are very welcome to come in. The images we used on the entry graphics were drawn from the wondrous range in the collection – from historic maps to exquisite artwork by Mary and Lily Allport.

The interpretation inside the museum needed to work for both casual and expert visitors. Our solution was to divide information between fixed introductory panels and removable sheets containing the fine detail of what’s on show. This enables visitors to move the information to the objects, and overcomes the problems posed by the necessarily low light levels in much of the space.

Graphic design: Julie Hawkins
Three-dimensional design: Tim Williams, Red Arrow