A new book devoted to the art of theme park design and written by a former TEA board member and creative designer at Walt Disney Imagineering is to launch on 28 March.

Theme Park Design & The Art of themed entertainment, written by David Younger, is aimed at designers, students and theme park fans, bringing together a wealth of tips and advice from design experts at Disney, Universal and Merlin’s creative studios, among others.

The book promises to be a comprehensive study of experience design in the world of themed entertainment, providing a valuable reference for industry professionals.

“As a young person within this industry, I viewed the process of writing this book as an opportunity to learn from the best designers in the history of theme park design, documenting their advice, their perspectives and their tried-and-tested approaches to design,” said Younger.

In the 600-page book, Younger tackles a vast range of topics, from defining the art of themed design and looking at the theme park business model to discussing the design process and its creative techniques. He also provides a detailed exploration of the concept of storytelling in themed experiences.

“Rather than trying to prescribe any particular approach to design, my aim was to document all possibilities theme parks have found so far, and show just how innovative, exciting and varied theme park design can be,” said Younger, who wrote the book while studying his PhD in Art and Design. He chose to focus his doctorate research project on the themed entertainment sector.

Theme Park Design & The Art of Themed Entertainment has a preface by Disney Legend Tony Baxter and an afterword by Imagineer and Animal Kingdom designer Joe Rohde.

“By amassing the communal knowledge of this disparate and diverse group into a single opus, David Younger has provided us all with a landmark in our intellectual space from which we may navigate to further possibility,” said Rohde.