how to write a museum label

Tease your audience with an introductory label in which you highlight the significant parts of an exhibit. As any interpreter knows, many museum visitors don’t read labels at all, while others only check out the title. We acknowledge Elders past, present and emerging. Make the font size at least 14 points. Museum visitors are typically more highly educated, with post-secondary education likely in humanities or the arts; aged between thirty and fifty years or primary school aged children; visit as family groups; are in a higher socio-economic class and visited museums as children. A museum label, also referred to as caption or tombstone is a label describing an object exhibited in a museum or one introducing a room or area. use a tone that is appropriate to the project’s goals and engages visitors. If the text on the label or sign is not duplicated elsewhere, and you must cite it, then you may want to include a photo of the label and the object it identifies (if there is one) in your paper or project (in the Appendix). Come and explore what our researchers, curators and education programs have to offer! 003 are the aprons, 004 & 005 are the fobs and 006 is the label pin; = 2001.002.001-006 - The museum’s next donation is on March 5 th 2001, when Bro. In some areas they stay longer, in other bits forget it. Stay focused on those themes as you write. Try writing it in one short sentence only! * Avoid using italics in body copy (unless for emphasis on a few words). Writing directly on the surface. Reading Strategies Used by Exhibition Visitors. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Minnesota: University of Minnesota. Format of information (wall text, object label, brochure), Gallery Name, Number or Exhibition Title, Museum Name, City, State. The big idea helps the determine what information to convey to the visitor. Exhibit planners are accountable for this investment and must ensure that the optimum visitor experience is achieved. Paper presented at the Museums Australia Conference, Albury. Whether you use one label or five, if these are standardized, guests will notice the professionalism of your presentation. Native Legends is considered the earliest published piece of writing by an Aboriginal author. 4. Always provide a table of contents for the museum catalog. Increasingly, labels in non-English-speaking countries have labels in English as well as the main local language, and in some parts of the world, labels in three or more languages are common. Learn all you can about the object in question. Sandy the Naturalist had another life as the zoologist Frank McNeill. Included […] Text for exhibit labels should be friendly, but still speak with authority. If you ever visited an art museum you might have noticed that a label with several lines of text is usually displayed near each work of art. In order to describe a piece to a museum goer, you have a duty to understand what it is first. If the work was part of an exhibit, include the exhibit’s name as the title … If you are really interested in museum fonts, check out the Museums tag over at Fonts in Use to see which fonts are currently being used in museums. (199?). Bear in mind that brevity is the soul of wit; museum patrons will likely be enticed by a succinct, powerful and brief description. Exhibitions are an enormous investment, both financially and physically. Write numerals as clearly as possible, as follows: ... label, and a porous surface could absorb the B-72. The curator may like their own style and assume this is what the general museum visitor wants. Offering revelation, reframing and provocation, it’s no surprise this label was one of the winners of the 2019 Excellence in Exhibition Label Writing Competition. Continue with a section label, in which you include the relevance of the object. Quebec City: Musee de la civilisation. A soft pencil (#2 or HB) is recommended for marking the reverse of a paper object. Serrell, B. Sydney: Australian Museum. When you write your team's primary didactic panel, remember that we are focused on the meeting of worlds--two of those being the worlds of sentiment and of science. Object labels provide the information a museum patron needs in order to know what an item is and put it in context. Textiles For rugs, costumes, linens, draperies, flags, and other textiles, use permanent black ink to write the catalog number on white linen tape. Continue with a section label, in which you include the relevance of the object. The Perlman Teaching Museum 2. Additionally, we discuss how recent visitor research has informed the development of museum-wide standards for the writing, design and display of interpretive texts at MoMA. Audience Research Tell Us Why Visitors Come to Museums - and why they don't. example: Wall text, Playful Performers, National Museum of … in Scott, C. Whether you’re working at a museum dedicated to preserving nautical memorabilia or a museum housing the work of contemporary artists, your visitors need to know what they’re examining. Useful guidelines for writing text and labels, and a reference list are also included. // Leaf Group Lifestyle, Museum Professionals: Writing Exhibit Labels. Rather, place the number on the acid-free enclosures that hold the negatives. In this section, explore all the different ways you can be a part of the Museum's groundbreaking research, as well as come face-to-face with our dedicated staff. Sitter’s name, life–death dates (years only) 2. Are they old, young, visiting alone, visiting as a couple, are they with their family or other form of social group? The writing should be as small as possible while still legible. In thinking about designing text and labels McLean (1993, p.111-113) outlines some useful ideas: Evaluation and audience research is a key way to ensure that visitors learn from exhibitions and have the best possible experiences. But did it work in practice? This label contains information often included on labels on art work on museum walls. End the statement with a strong summary and overall theme of your art. Doing It Right: A Workbook for Improving Exhibit Labels. Museum Placard Labels: Layout Label example from The Practical Art World. Writing gallery and label text is very different from writing books or scholarly articles. Weil, S. (1994). clarity. This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. This could be the birth year and death year of the artist (if applicable), the museum’s own cataloguing number for the work, and a credit to the donor of the work if applicable. Meanings and messages: language guidelines for museum exhibitions. (Ed.) Labels (object labels) are identifying text for an artwork placed in a museum gallery room containing an exhibition. Many times the more famous or iconic work of art in the exhibition is on the title page with the title. In rare instances, less damage is caused by writing a catalog number directly on the surface of an object than applying a number to a barrier coat. Useful guidelines for writing text and labels, and a reference list are also included. If the exhibit is small or in a single room and there's a large sign with your name on it, you probably don't need your name on every label. Research has shown that visitors use exhibitions in the following ways (Hein, 1998): In her extensive work on visitor time and behaviour in exhibitions, including data from more than one hundred exhibition evaluations, Serrell (1997) concluded that: To hold visitors' attention and set up the ideal conditions for learning we first need to attract their attention. 1. Effective labels and effective exhibitions are unique combinations of variables that together can enhance or deter communication. Highlight each individual object with a label that includes the bare facts. (Serrell, 1996, p.234), Exhibitions are one of the major links between museums and the public. Distilling large amounts of detailed information or research about an object into a succinct, relevant, interesting and widely-accessible label can be a complicated, tricky and at times frustrating task. 6.1 Writing 6.2 Text Development Process 6.3 Exhibition Graphics and Labels 6.4 Images for Exhibition Graphics and Labels 6.5 Positioning of Graphics 6.6 Viewing Bands: general 6.7 Viewing Bands: pre-five 6.8 Templates 7. The Museum's first Research Fellow, Dr Ronald Strahan, passed away in 2010, leaving a valuable legacy of work and influence, according to this tribute by former Museum Directors Des Griffin and Frank Talbot. (Weil, 1994, p.43). Hood, M. (1995). Visitor Behaviour, Fall, 4-15. 'museum-type' displays/techniques, such as objects in showcases and dioramas, are more attractive for visitors; where available live displays are the most attractive for visitors; three-dimensional visual strategies (specimens, showcases and videos) are more successful in helping visitors recall key information; where there is more variety of interpretation, items other than text panels will be stopped at; where there is more than one strategy used for one message there is more retention of that message; the use of many different examples for a small number of key messages may be most effective for visitors who don't already know about the subject; visitors participate in active (doing) more so than passive (viewing) experiences; and. For description describe it as an exhibit and under location include the name of the museum, and if you’d like, the collection or part of the museum where the exhibit can be found If the contributor is an organization, make sure to enter this in the last name field. Samson, D. (1995). Creampuffs and Hardball: Are You Really Worth What You Cost? (1997). What are their likely levels of prior knowledge and interests? Museum Label Writing Formula 1. Bitgood, S. (1996). Available online at http://www.amonline.net.au/amarc. (Ed.) The title page of a museum catalog is crucial – you need to think of an image that completely encompasses the theme of your exhibition. Using Questions as Titles on Museum Exhibit Labels to Direct Visitor Attention and Increase Learning. (1996). They're actually zooming in on something that interests them rather than you saying 'look what about doing this, doing that'. The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of the land and waterways on which the Museum stands. Museums usually display the same kind of information with art shown on their websites too. Use and cite these sources instead of museum labels and signs for a research paper, when possible. the average time spent in Australian Museum exhibitions was 16 minutes (SEX); 12 minutes (Frogs); 23 minutes (Indigenous Australians), 41 minutes (Spiders!). MacLulich, C. (1995). in Blais, A. ), Evaluation and Visitor Research in Museums: Towards 2000. How to Patent an Idea for a Television Show, Copyright 2021 Leaf Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Steps in the Label Script Process 1. Striking balance between being accessible to target audiences and not alienating or patronising core audiences is hard. Washington: Association of Science Centres-Technology Centres. Textiles in life-cycle and other rituals. Kim Kenney, writing for Museum Professionals, advises you to limit yourself to 200 words for this kind of label. visitors spend much less time in exhibitions than we either think or would like to think - usually less than twenty minutes. Museum Property Handbook (411 DM Volume II) Appendix J J:4 Release Date: New directly. The whole ... to write a number on an object use a … He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Ohio State University at Marion and teaches writing in various capacities in his community. Practical Guidelines for Developing Interpretive Labels. * Hein: Read 30-50% of labels in a given display / exhib. A big idea helps exhibit planners share the same vision for what the exhibition is really about (Serrell, 1996, p.4). The curator’s individual writing-style may be more fact focused. Thank you for reading. Having a clear picture of who the audience for the exhibition is guides the whole approach to the exhibition. Every child's different if you watch them. Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum 3. To cite wall text, follow the MLA format template. write labels to show how different cultures fulfilled similar needs, such as clothing, eating or furnishing their homes. Create standard object labels for all of the exhibits in the museum. Curator, 40(2), 108-125. More importantly, it will be easier for guests to absorb the information if it’s in the same place for every piece they see. In this section, find out everything you need to know about visiting the Australian Museum, how to get here and the extraordinary exhibitions on display. (Ferguson, MacLulich & Ravelli, 1995, p.4), ...since the beginning of museums, exhibit labels have been used as instruments for torture on helpless visitors...Labels can be designed so that they have a high probability of being read, meet the educational objectives of an exhibit, and create visitor satisfaction. • Use strong verbs and an … The Australian Museum respects and acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of the land and waterways on which the Museum stands. By studying visitor behaviour we can see what seems to be working well and what features attract and hold visitors' attention. Litwak, J. M. (1996). Visitor Studies: Theory, Research and Practice, 8, 115-129. Bear in mind that brevity is the soul of wit; museum patrons will likely be enticed by a succinct, powerful and brief description. in Scott, C. Museum goers will be interested to know, for example, if an anchor in your collection was recovered from a shipwreck in the Marshall Islands, but do not need to know the name of the ship’s captain. If you don’t know a lot about the work’s period, do a little bit of research. ), Evaluation and Visitor Research in Museums: Towards 2000. For The Marriage of History and Legend: The Victorian Revival of King Arthuran image of King Arthur pulling the sword out of the stone would be the best candidate in this regard. The Walker Art Center 4. (Serrell, 1996, p.234) Exhibitions are one of the major links between museums and the public. Ferguson, L., MacLulich, C. & Ravelli, L. (1995). Sydney: Powerhouse Publishing, 161-168. abeling museum objects with accession numbers is an important responsibil-ity. A good title should clearly introduce the topic and content of the exhibition, but at the same time it should be sufficiently distinctive to spark potential visitors’ curiosity. Write in an unimportant area and do not press hard enough to create indentations. This online exhibit is a great example of how valuable museum labels can be when they consider the audience, appeal to … Research at the Australian Museum has shown that (Kelly, 1999a): Ferguson, et al (1995) identify a number of factors that shape texts: They also describe other factors specific to museums: Visitors use text in a number of ways (Ferguson, et al, 1995): Serrell (1996, p.84-91) identified a number of steps in writing visitor friendly labels: McLean (1993, p.103-112) posed the challenge to produce text that people read and comprehendeasily in the following ways: Text and labels don't occur in isolation - their design can be the difference between success and failure. Curator, 32(3), 174-189. Receive the latest news on events, exhibitions, science research and special offers. How To Read A Museum Label To get the most information out of each Web page with an image, the viewer should not forget to read the label under the image. Longhenry, S. This website may contain names, images and voices of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Sample labels and rubrics for evaluation were provided to attendees, as well as take-home reference materials to extend the learning experience beyond the conference session. Text in the Exhibition Medium. When you go to a museum there's so many different things you can look at and they're actually choosing the bits that interest them. As communication devices, exhibitions make use of a wide variety of interpretive media - one of which is language in the form of exhibitions texts. • Write to encourage looking and thinking, to foster a sense of discovery. Kelly, L. (1996). Don't be Boring. Hiram donates three items: A pair of leather gloves, an apron and silver tea set. Text and labels must work in conjunction with all forms of interpretation such as objects, graphics, photographs, video and computer and other interactives, as well as with live interpretation such as performances, lectures, and floor staff. Below are some visual examples of artwork labels: For a loaned artwork: Roy Lichenstein Whaam! what is being discussed: the subject matter, the way the communication is taking place: the nature of language that translates to the style of the text, the structures and form of language used: the choice of words and the interactions between the authors of the texts and the end user, museum visits are free form: visitors choose what they attend to, museum texts complement other forms of interpretation, acting as labels for interactives, signposts and orientation devices and instructions, museums have visitors: all kinds of people with a wide variety of learning styles and interests are motivated to visit museums for a range of reasons, adults read sections of text aloud for children and other members of their group, adults read privately and then discuss the text with other visitors, visitors 'talk back' to the text and answer the questions it poses, visitors use words from the text in their conversations, start with information directly related to what visitors can see, feel, do, smell, or experience from where they are standing, use short paragraphs and small chunks, not large blocks of information, metaphors are better for other forms of narrative, not labels, alliteration is an easy device to overuse, exclamation marks in labels shout at readers and force emphasis on them, use quotations when they advance the narrative and are necessary, use informative paragraph titles and subtitles, newspaper journalism is not a good model as articles are written with the assumption that readers, stay flexible within the label system - labels that all look the same become boring to read, include visitors in the conversation: encourage their participation, labels that are combined with photographs, drawings, objects and other sensory elements have a greater impact on visitor learning than any one element alone, labels should be designed to ask questions, encourage participation, attract attention, direct viewers and encourage comparisons, information in labels can be layered to allow for different levels of engagement through different presentation styles: conceptual, graphic, interactive, emotional and physical, setting objectives for each exhibit component helps to determine what types of information and labels to include, labels should start with the actual experience at hand: what the visitor is looking at or experiencing at that point in the exhibition, visitors have limited time to absorb information so interpretive graphics should be clear, concise, understandable and short, if a long passage is necessary divide it into several labels rather than clumping it together in one huge block, writers must be able to let go of some information, as painful as it might be, people only usually spend a few seconds reading a label so it must convey essential information in that time, people usually stand while reading labels: fatigue, the jostle of crowds, the pull of children and the attraction of other exhibits effect reading behaviour, decide which elements need specific explanations and which elements are simply re-emphasising a point, make sure there are not better ways to present information, such as brochures, catalogues, information sheets, audio-guides, video, graphic images/drawing, cartoons, text writing should be considered an integral part of the exhibition development process, initiated and developed along with the exhibit design, identify the circumstances under which labels will be viewed, labels should be large enough to read while standing at a comfortable distance from them, need to allow for simultaneous viewing by a number of people, they should be close enough to the area or object they are describing so the visitor doesn't get lost between the object and its label, labels should be located to allow viewing from a range of heights, they should be legible for people with visual impairments, the six major elements to consider when designing exhibition labels are typeface; type size; label and type colour; line length; letter spacing; and label production materials. Include the introduction, main s… Visitors will read text yet don't want to be overwhelmed by it: well written text that is clear, simple, interesting and easy to read will be read, enjoyed and retained by most visitors. What is a Label? Learning in the Museum. * Use line lengths of 50 to 60 characters. Same Object, Different Voices: Write the labels using the voice of the museum expert, the person who made the artifact and the person who inherited the artifact from a grandparent. These labels can tell us a lot about what we are seeing. * Use both uppercase and lowercase letters in the body copy. Jenkins, P.O. After the ink has thoroughly Long text panels and labels packed with information will be skipped by a majority of visitors, except for those with a deep interest in the subject. The Western Australian Museum advises you to consider including main headings and introductory statements, general information (including a basic description of the object), object labels that give the basic context of a work and courtesy labels, in which you acknowledge donors or copyright holders. To write gallery text that is interesting, Hein, G. (1998). Audience research assists both in identifying audiences and in uncovering their interests, needs and prior knowledge levels about a particular topic. Every exhibition must have a big idea: a sentence or statement of what the exhibition is about (Serrell, 1996).

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