It’s a creative endeavor that doesn’t have any strict rules to determine its success. In my more than a decade of experience in the industry I have gathered some observations that I find helpful to remember.
The production of an exhibit is usually a collaborative effort that involves a wide range of participants, each with their own objectives. It is difficult to maintain a consistent vision throughout a project. Consequently, here’s a quick guide that can help any team avoid common pitfalls while creating compelling and captivating exhibits.
1. Your exhibit is unique. Do not copy other people’s work.
It’s good to remember that starting a project from scratch is the best way to start. How will this exhibition tell a unique story? Which interactive experiences can allow visitors to interact with the stories? It can be tempting to copy and paste inspiration images because of the easy access we have to them today. This is also a time-saving method. The right content is more important than the technology or display.
2. You can’t satisfy everyone. It’s just a fact.
It is tempting to want an exhibition to be everything to everyone. The most interesting projects tend to be those that focus on one thing more than another. Exhibitions are creative acts, and they gain strength from their constraints. The list of things not shown can be as memorable as the items that are. In a good creative brief, it is important to include the things that will not be included in the project. A specific audience can give an exhibition a more editorial edge, but it does not mean other audiences won’t enjoy it.
3. You are creating an experience. It’s not a grid of content.
A content grid is often used to translate a curatorial vision into exhibition zones and messages. The creative process leaves little room for the design team to discuss the content and experience of the exhibition. This can lead to many great ideas. can bring to the table solutions that are more playful, that involve multiple senses, or that take a different approach in learning. This process is often not budgeted or valued, and many interesting opportunities are missed.
4. Both physical and digital environments exist.
Media is becoming a bigger part of production budgets in more of our projects. Traditional media and interactive media provide depth to exhibitions and opportunities for transmedia storytelling . This expands the exhibition in the spheres web and social media and creates potential new partnerships for museums. Budget allocations should be included in a good creative brief from the start.
5. There is such a concept as too much content
Often, we embark on projects with multiple educational objectives. There are many stories to be told, and much information to convey, but only a small amount of space. As online resources become more abundant, museums are relieved of the burden of having to be encyclopaedic. Smart phones allow more and more museum visitors to Google facts at any time. Is it necessary to explain every detail in the exhibition? What are the experiences that can only be had in a museum and therefore should be prioritized over other experiences? What is going to create an experience that will linger in the mind of a visitor for weeks after their visit? It’s always a good idea to leave some creative space for exhibitions.
These 5 tips are worth reading over and over. Take a step back and revisit these tips when designing your exhibition. The exhibition is a space for learning, so it must inspire both through the content it contains and its experience.