Last post, we turned the spotlight on themes: the “so what” of good storytelling that connects people with content in focused, powerful ways. Themes reveal the meanings inherent in your resources and make them relevant enough to elicit curiosity and get audiences thinking. They’re ideas that really stick.
So now that we know what themes are and why we need them, let’s take a look at how to develop one.
Themes are not the same as topics—and topics aren’t themes. A topic is your gallery’s or exhibit’s subject matter. Topics can be things like:
Let’s grab a few topics from the real-world examples we shared in Part I to explore the difference.
All great topics, but what about the human body, spies or innovators do we want the audience to understand? Describing a topic in greater detail might seem like a theme, but remember: a more specific topic is still a topic.
So if these aren’t themes, what is? A theme expresses the main idea about a topic that we want to communicate. That idea connects tangible resources to their intangible meanings in ways that are relevant to your audience. It should capture, organize, and sustain their attention, providing opportunities for each person to make their own connections to the meanings of the resource.
Crafting a theme is easier than you might think. Here are four useful steps to help you get started:
Developing a theme requires considerable thought, and it’s normal to run through a few drafts before you get it right. Once you’ve put pen to paper, ask yourself the following questions:
With a great theme in hand, you’re ready to start telling great stories—but what, exactly, should you do with it? Next up we’ll explore how to use that stellar theme with Codex to unite text, images, and video or sound recordings into powerful digital galleries for all the world to see.
If you missed Part I of this blog series be sure to check it out Here - its all about why good storytelling starts with themes.
Or, move on to Part III Here- how to share this great theme we've worked so hard on!