Resources for Exhibit Writers: “Gallery text at the V & A: A Ten Point Guide”

In the process of (1) preparing a talk about the research behind good label-writing practices and (2) trying to develop an in-house style manual for exhibition text at the museum where I work, I’m coming across some great resources for exhibit writers and exhibit developers.

Here’s a resource you shouldn’t miss, especially if you are trying to change label-writing practices at a curatorially driven institution:

Gallery text at the V & A
A Ten Point Guide

(Note that “Ten Point” really should be hyphenated.)

The ten points, listed below, may seem obvious to a visitor-focused label writer. What is impressive about this guide are the examples provided, and the arguments made about how and why to make labels accessible without condescending to a sometimes highly educated audience.

1. Write for your audience
2. Stick to the text hierarchy and word count
3. Organise your information
4. Engage with the object
5. Admit uncertainty
6. Bring in the human element
7. Sketch in the background
8. Write as you would speak
9. Construct your text with care
10. Remember Orwell’s Six Rules

 

 

 

 

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the guide:

…word limits don’t restrict the amount of information that most visitors absorb. Instead, they increase it. In a gallery or exhibition, less really is more.

There is sometimes a fear in the V&A that access means ‘dumbing down’. This can indeed happen, but when it does the fault often lies in the content not in the language itself. To appeal to a broad audience while maintaining the confidence of our many well educated visitors we have to be convincing.

Don’t miss this one. Here’s the link.