Introduction• The role of museums has changed from purely custodian-led to audience-led

• ‘Infotainment’ is not a dirty word. • No such thing as an ‘average visitor’ but there are ‘core’ audiences and ‘target’ audiences.

• ‘Visitors don’t read labels.’ Paradox: visitors read less than 50% but still expect them..

• All museums are different: embrace individuality!

It would be nice to do without labels but objects, more

often than not, cannot speak for themselves.

Three perspectives to take into account:1. Content (curator’s voice)2. Style (editor’s voice) 3. Design (graphic designer’s voice)

Add No. 4. How you would explain it to your mate down the pub?

Three golden rules: 1. Be as brief as possible2. Make a point3. Use accessible language

Key Themes 1: The Big Idea• Focus to help you, your team AND the visitor.

• For each object or exhibit, ask ‘what has this got to do with the Big Idea?’ Have a point to make.

• Topics are not ideas. E.g. ‘Toys’ or ‘1950s photographs’ are just topics. What about them?

• Be flexible• Look at exhibition posters/websites for models

Too big:‘This display is about the Romans’

Too detailed:‘This display explores fakes and forgeries, famous forgers and

scandals, plus the techniques and science used to create and detect

them.’

Too bitty:‘Visitors will learn about molecular

structure, chemical reactions, empirical analysis, and how scientists

invent new substances.’

OUT OF THIS WORLDExplore a range of imaginings that have provoked hopes and dreams, exhilaration and fear - and see how science fiction has influenced scientific discovery(24 words)Everyday stories of country folk:

celebrating 60 years of The Archers and MERL, 1951–2011In 1951 the first national episode of The Archers was broadcast. Millions still tune in today. MERL was founded in the same year. This new exhibition celebrates both radio serial and Museum, charting changes to the countryside that these two iconic institutions have witnessed over the last 60 years.(49 words)

Colourful language

Quite brief

Suggests self-led

Self-consciously

marketed

(niche audience)

Do you need first

half?

Too many sentencesVague language (‘charting’, ‘celebrates’) reflects tenuous link between components.What is MERL? Is it really ‘iconic’?

Exhibition is mainly about farming – not clear

Key Themes 2: Objects and Audiences• Gateway objects can catch or focus attention

• Make labels independently meaningful: random access

• Understand museum conditions, standing, noisy, etc. Label readable in 10 seconds, panels 60 max.

• Many parents read labels aloud to children

• Don’t assume visitors are the same as you - different values and opinions.

Key Themes 3: Messages & Meaning

• Writing in clear language is not dumbing down Language should be easy, spontaneous and convincing. Reading age: 12-14

• Don’t waste words describing what visitors can see

• DO tell a story but DON’T put a book on the wall

• Make message different from Wikipedia entry

• Interpretation is neither facts nor literary fiction, but ‘revelation through information’

(Freeman Tilden)

Messages and Meaning

• Use points of reference (sayings/media) but beware how it can date text

• Work from the specific to the general (not vice versa)

• Use a journalistic approach • Layer info for paddlers, swimmers & divers. Use bold, different sized fonts or bullets to break up captions

• Include donor info/accession number…discreetly

Crucial

Not so crucial

Is anyone still reading?

Pyramid of Priorities!

Patron, western Europe, possibly 1550s

Pitt Rivers collected this patron, believing it to date to the time of Philip and Mary, which would make it a very rare find. It is made of ebony and ivory with a spring lid. Inside is space for five rolled paper cartridges, each containing a ball and powder.

A pre-made cartridge saved the shooter time measuring out the right amount of powder before he fired. The paper wrapping was stuffed down the barrel as wadding to stabilize the shot. The cartridges were torn open with the teeth so until the development of metal cartridges in the 19th century, army recruits had to possess good molars to pass the medical examination.

Founding Collection; 1884.28.20

What else would you change?

Carvings and paintings on rock are scattered throughout South Africa. They might have had magical or religious significance relating to the hunting of large game. Other rock paintings were made during girls’ coming-of-age ceremonies and boys’ initiation rites.Early people carved and painted rocks throughout South Africa. The pictograms they created - such as the one on your right - may signify magical or religious ideas associated with the game they hunted. Others showed girls’ and boys’ puberty and initiation ceremonies. In the past it was common for archaeologists and explorers to remove examples of South African rock art but many sites are now protected by law.

From sterile to story…sometimes worth more words?

Key Themes 4: Style and Design• ‘You’ or imperative verbs = direct engagement• Use humour, rhetoric and exclamation marks with care!

• One idea per sentence. Vary sentences length and avoid subordinate clauses

• Active vs passive: use both when appropriate• Photo captions often benefit from present tense• Numbers: ‘one’, ‘twenty’, ‘5 million’ not 5,000,000Dates: ‘19th century’ rather than 19th or ‘nineteenth’

• Dashes in numerical ranges or clauses, hyphens in composites: 1914–1918, 19th-century house, hi-fi

• Bold type or bullets to break up long captions or lists

Style and Design continued

Key Themes 5: Process• 7 steps: planning, starting, detailing, writing, listening, editing, evaluating

• Have a chain…and leave enough time• Don’t get over-protective - you’re writing for visitors, not yourself or your peers

• If you’re editing, make sure the person has clear guidelines at ouset to prevent negativity and extra work

• After each edit, ensure you have fewer words!

• Transcribe and file for easy access/revision

Text example: Aboriginal Art

Brief: Put together a display of the Museum’s

collections of Aboriginal art in this space.

Text example: Aboriginal Art

• Object selection dictates interpretive focus not vice versa. Had about 30 good examples from northern Australia, but little from the South.

• Researched topic, other exhibitions of similar material, sought advice.

• Decide on organisational schema – Geographically? Chronologically? Thematically? Typologically?

• Decide how much room you have for text. Do a mock up (on paper is fine). Do you need maps? Do you need photos?

• Intro panel: Decide on key ideas (max 5):  MANTRA: ‘It’s really important for people to

understand… ’• Start with a punchy question or statement, not a

paragraph. Why is this topic important enough for people to continue reading? Set appropriate tone and focus.

Text example: Aboriginal Art

Key Ideas:‘It’s really important for people to understand…’1.Regional variety2.The Dreamtime *3.Permanent vs temporary forms4.Colonial influences *5.Contemporary style and market

* Some ideas/aspects will require more attention and expansion than others. Allocate to other panels if space allows or incorporate into other textual devices (e.g. ‘Did you know’ sections or printed guide)

Where were these ideas expressed in the text?

Why should I be interested in this? BIG IDEA ‘Oldest continuing art tradition in the world.’ (para. 1)

Idea 1 ‘...number of distintive regional styles...’ (para. 2)

Idea 2 ‘…the stories of the Ancestral past (often referred to as the Dreamtime) are recreated…’ (para. 3)

Idea 3 ‘Some arts are permanent such as bark painting….while others are temporary, such as sand sculptures.’ (para. 3)

Idea 4 ‘…Aboriginal artists have atempted to reconcile the impact of two centuries of colonial history...’ (para. 3)

Idea 5 ‘…becoming one of the most desirable and collectable kinds of art in the world.’ (para. 4)

Aboriginal Art: DIY map

Text exercise: Analysis

Text exercise: Analysis

• What did you remember?• What was good?• What could be improved?• Does position in gallery affect usefulness?

Labels: Analysis

Challenge 1: Make ‘everyday’ or ‘dull’ objects interesting

Labels: Analysis

Challenge 2: Make complex or rich objects understandable… but not in this many words

Labels: Analysis

Your challenge: Write a label for this object in 100 words

Checklist1. Write for your audience, not your peers2. Organize your information 3. Keep to word count 4. Satisfy access and house-style guidelines

(if any)5. Admit uncertainty6. Include human element – tell stories7. Write as you would speak8. Provide context 9. Take care over spelling, grammar,

punctuation10.Look at object again before signing off –

have you missed anything obvious?

Evaluation• Look in comments books. Note people usually only notice bad text!

• Observation/tracking. Note behaviour & conversations.

• Ask as visitors as they leave: ‘What was that exhibition/ gallery/display about?’ If they don’t know, it’s failed.

• Favourite object - Why? How it looked or label info?

• Focus groups: Try different layouts, colour, sizes, focus, language. Front-end (interest, prior knowledge), formative (testing) and summative (learning outcomes, lessons for next time).

Further informationWebsites, resources and articles• Plain English Campaign (check out Drivel Defence!)• National Association for Interpretation (USA)• Association for Heritage Interpretation (UK)• Museum Practice (MA)• Guardian Style Guide• Museums Galleries Scotland (Interpretive Planning)• RNIB: See it Right and Talking Images• Lucy Trench, Gallery Text at the V&A: a ten point guide • Stephen Bitgood, The ABCs of Label Design (1991) • Lynda Kelly, Finding Evidence of Visitor Learning (1999)

Books• Graham Black, The Engaging Museum (Abingdon: Routledge, 2005)• George Hein, Learning in the Museum (London: Routledge, 1998)• Louise Ravelli, Museum Texts: communication frameworks (London:

Routledge 2006)• Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases (1852–2011….)• Beverly Serrell, Exhibit Labels: An Interpretive Approach

(Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press, 1996)

Finally…

Look around you for inspiration!• Plenty of instances of text on limited spaces: other museums, adverts, mini-news columns, websites, food and drink containers, posters, leaflets, tweets

• Writing for specific audiences: Compare same news stories as reported by BBC Radio 1, 2 and 4.

• Challenge your writing – easy to fall into a style and never change. Predicatable labels are dull.GOOD LUCK!

helen.hales@prm.ox.ac.uk