Mario Andretti:
​Racing Royalty

This 8,000sf feature exhibit was created with World of Speed Motorsports museum to celebrate the epic racing career of Mario Andretti. I am proud of what our team was able to accomplish with such a large, wide-open footprint and relatively small budget.

​Exhibit team

• Matt Suplee, Exhibit Designer/Developer
• Ron Huegli, Curator
• Mike Bellinger, Graphic Designer
• Erin Bledy, Ty Feague, Video Production

photos: Ty Feague, courtesy of World of Speed

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I begin each project by establishing a clear understanding of who we are trying to reach and what we want to get across to them.

Final design rendering for Mario Andretti: Racing Royalty

The view of the exhibit when you first walk into the exhibition hall.

I always look to establish a strong first impression of the exhibit and a clear starting point that frames the overall exhibition content.

The graphics for this feature exhibit utilized a distinct color palette and aesthetic to distinguish from other museum displays.

Cars were grouped into "pods" around different themes. This one represented Andretti's Early Life and racing career. Each pod featured a video interview with Andretti and an interpretive graphic panel giving further detail into the theme.

We conserved resources by reusing interpretive panel bases from a previous exhibit and reskinning them with new graphics.

Effort was made to tease out information that is relevant to current events, such as Andretti's little-know history as a refugee who immigrated to the U.S. at 15, speaking little English.

I utilized photos to tell the story as much as possible. This black and white photo of a young fresh-faced Mario helps drive home how long he had been racing.

I sought out quotes that would reinforce the messages we were communicating in each area, such as this one that gives insight into his racing versatility.

We sought to reach audiences in as many ways as possible. One of the most successful ways was through the videos we created that featured interviews with Mario and his peers, alongside historical footage.

We emphasized the breadth of Andretti's success in racing by using a large graphic timeline that catalogued all of his major wins.

We emphasized the decades in which Andretti won to express the unusually long span of his racing successes. We also made note of the style of racing he won in to remind folks of his ability to find success in almost any type of car racing.

The view from the rear of the exhibition.

Andretti came from Pennsylvania to celebrate the exhibit and was very moved by what we had created.

Exhibit Development Process

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