Strategic Experience Plan

Since its founding in 1871 as one of Portland’s first public parks, Washington Park has grown to include several of the region’s  most beloved and unique gardens, memorials and cultural institutions including the International Rose Test Garden, the Portland Japanese Garden, Hoyt Arboretum, the World Forestry Center and the Oregon Zoo. 

 
An elephant at the zoo, a forested trail in Hoyt Arboretum, purple roses in the Rose Garden, a rock garden at Portland Japanese Garden and the World Forestry Center's museum

Coming out of a challenging 2018 Park Masterplan process, sparks+sullivan led a human centered strategic process with the Explore Washington Park Board in order to identify common ground for improving Park access and visitor experiences.

Flow diagram showing inputs flowing into the project and outputs flowing out. The inputs include internal surveys, visit data, park history, field observations, visitor interviews, expert interviews and inspiration from other parks and places. The ou

Research set the stage for the project; methods ranged from interviews with Park visitors (and non-visitors) to analyzing the history and development of the Park.

A diagram of quotes from the partner survey are grouped around key themes including regional identity, visitor experience, conservation and sustainability, quality, access, community and partnership. Five large quotes state first, "Washington Park h
Gwen, from sparks+sullivan, writes notes on a clipboard while interviewing a staff member from Hoyt Arboretum under a pavilion in the park.
Pages from the final report illustrate interviews with people about the park by showing photos of them being interviewed and quotes. Three large quotes state first, "We're going through a modern day civil rights movement. And we want to stand up and
Additional pages from the final report illustrate more interviews in the same format. Two large quotes state, first, "Portland is different and I'm different. Seemed like a good fit," and "When people nod or say hi, it feels like you're part of somet
Gwen interviews a couple through a video call using her computer in a bright office.
A data visualization illustrates each of the park's venues, the number of annual visitors to each one and the proportions of those visitors that go to another venue in the same visit. The Oregon Zoo has the most visitors. Many visitors go to the Japa
Pages from the final report show a timeline of the park's history including historic drawings and photographs from the 1800's.
A historic drawing of Portland from the 1800's shows the area west of the Willammette River in between the river and the west hills. On one of the forested hills, a new label shows where Washington Park was built.
Pages from the final report show six maps of the park that illustrate how its size expanded over time from 1871 to 2001.
Pages form the final report show two expert interviews with leaders from Balboa Park in San Diego and Forest Park in Saint Louis. A quote from Balboa Park reads, "City budgets and staff typically can't maintain and improve a Park of this scale. Don't

One Park became the project motto and was the mental and operational shift from neighboring institutions to one incredible park serving the Portland region. The workshops and plans approached all the work through this lens.

A diagram shows an existing mental model of the park with a blob representing the park positioned in between circles representing the institutions. An arrow leads to a new mental model that shows the blob representing the park encircling the institut

Working during COVID, we designed shared experiences for the many internal team members to safely participate in the process. Shown here is an early workshop in the form of an exhibit placed inside the Park.

A project exhibit of richly illustrated boards that form a room sits under an outdoor pavilion within a forested part of the Park.
People gather and talk and look at project workshop boards under a pavilion in the park.
A park ranger walks towards a project board that reads, "One Park: Building a holistic visitor experience at Washington Park" on top of an aerial photograph of the Park.
The project workshop boards are arranged to create a room and several people stand inside the room while they read the content on the boards including a historic timeline and interviews with park visitors.
A workshop participant reads a workshop board that illustrates a typical visitor's journey through the park as well as challenges they face at different stages in their visit. The key elements in the journey are awareness, interest, planning, arrival

The immersive workshop used QR codes for participants to listen to interviews and read research articles, and historic books and artifacts were also on display.

A workshop participant wearing a park ranger uniform uses their phone to listen to an interview with a park visitor. Pictures and quotes from the interviews are visible on a project board in front of him.
A hand holding a mobile phone scans a QR code on a project board to listen to an interview with a park visitor.
Historic photographs and books about the Park sit on a picnic table at the workshop.

Participants voted, commented, drew ideas and engaged in written discussions over the course of a day. This activity built awareness, consensus and pushed the work forward to project priorities.

Two workshop participants place stickers on the workshop boards to indicate content they like.
A view of the project boards shows two proposed core values. One reads "True to the Portland region" and the other reads "Sustainability is our way of life." Each is illustrated with several collages and sketches that show how the value could come to
A project board shows a proposed core value that reads, "Make every moment matter: We must put visitors first, obsessing every moment, transition and touchpoint to support visitor needs and empower understanding and exploration of the Park. We need t

Collaboratively as One Team, we articulated the Park’s purpose, core values and role as a signature park serving the Portland region.

Park Purpose: To connect people with the culture, diversity and wonder of nature.
Park Principle 1: We are caretakers of the natural world.
Park Principle 2: We eliminate barriers that exclude.
Park Principle 3: We are stewards of exploration.
Park Principle 4: We embody the nature of Portland.
Park Principle 5: We are One Park: a community of destinations.

To bring the purpose and values to life, we worked with Sheepscot Creative to create a video that expresses the One Park vision.

Through the research, the team identified insights and opportunities for the Park. These opportunities turned to action in an operations plan prioritizing specific projects for the next 10 years to fulfill the newly defined Park’s purpose and values. 

The final report's cover reads "One Park, Washington Park Strategic Operations Plan, Phase 1."
Pages form the final report show a large diagram titled Insights and Opportunities that show five key focus areas including identity, marketing and communications, access and circulation, visitor services and internal organization.
Pages from the final report are titled Operations Plan and show recommendations for each focus area: identity, marketing and communications, access and circulation, visitor services and internal organization.
A view of project boards at the workshop shows a participant writing on a post-it note on a board and two other participants reading another board.

We can’t do it alone. Special thanks to the dedicated and passionate partners who helped bring this project to life.

Award Recognition

Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) 
International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA): Gold

Society for Experiential Graphic Design (SEGD) 
Global Design Awards: Honor Award

Project Team

Client Lead
Heather McCarey, Explore Washington Park

Advisory Committee
Kathy Goeddel, Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association
Cynthia Haruyama, Portland Japanese Garden
Billie Moser, Travel Portland
Victor Sanders, Portland Parks & Recreation

Explore Washington Park Board
Steve Cole, At-large
Scott Cruickshank, Oregon Zoo
Joseph Furia, World Forestry Center
Kathy Goeddel, Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association
Anna Goldrich, Hoyt Arboretum Friends
Cynthia Haruyama, Portland Japanese Garden
Adena Long, Portland Parks & Recreation
Dave Malcolm, Sylvan Highlands Neighborhood Association
Billie Moser, Travel Portland
Ruth Shelly, Portland Children’s Museum
JC Vannatta, TriMet

Project Contributors
Lisa Christy, Portland Japanese Garden
Don Moore, Former Executive Director of the Oregon Zoo
Will Reese, Ethno

Videography
Dave Weich, Sheepscot Creative
Benna Gottfried, Sheepscot Creative

Workshop Photography
Micah Fisher

Writing
Ian Deming

sparks+sullivan Role
Facilitation + Strategy
Design

Did we miss a detail or shout out? Email us
and let us know! hello@sparkssullivan.com

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