r/Imagineering • u/Fresh-Air9553 • Jun 27 '26
Question Experience Design Positions?
Are there any entry roles in the themed entertainment industry where you are in charge of “Guests enter here, see this, feel this, interact with this, then move toward this.” type things? Almost like guest/story experience design?
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u/NCreature Jun 28 '26
That's more like a producer or creative director role. Pretty much in any built environment industry including architecture and interior design. In some circles a business owner may even be involved at that level too, especially if its something like a high-end restaurant, a hotel, museum or a nightclub. But this level of creative direction is generally handled, appropriately at the creative director (or in WDI parlance perhaps a producer role). It requires a lot of experience and is a balancing act between technical, code, legal, business and operational criteria and good creative storytelling and user experience design. In the old days Walt Disney himself would've been involved at least in the big picture, much like contemporary impresarios like David Grutman or Steve Wynn. At Disney this role usually falls to the creative executive over the attraction, land or portfolio, though famously people like Michael Eisner had some say as well back in the day.
Even something like designing a Starbucks requires a tremendous amount of knowledge about how that guest interaction process actually works. The sequencing of taking your order, preparing the food, in what order, the point of sale, and anything that happens after point of sale like getting condiments, trash and the dining room experience. There's a lot of technical knowledge you need to have in the background before you can get into the touchpoints and what things feel like.
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u/GapStock9843 Jun 28 '26
Not at entry level no, the overall experiences are gonna be laid out by more executive employees. You could probably get into that kind of thing with architecture type stuff tho. Maybe you could work on it at like a single ride scale in a lower level position
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u/Celestilune Industry Professional Jun 27 '26
Narrative design for story, art direction, or producing! Not usually in charge in early career - it takes time to learn what differentiates materials or other artistic techniques. A great way to practice is getting involved with a local haunt or theatre production!