Beverly Serrell and Katherine Whitney cover the essentials of the processes of exhibit label planning, writing, design, and production. In this third edition, Serrell's classic guide to writing interpretive exhibit labels is updated to include new voices, current scholarship and the unique issues the museum field is grappling with in the 21st century. With high quality photographs and new sections, this edition is more accessible and easier to use for all museum professionals, from label writers to museum directors to exhibit designers.
Beverly Serrell has been an exhibition and evaluation consultant with art, history, natural history, and science museums, as well as zoos and aquariums. She was previously head of a museum education department for eight years, and worked as a high school science teacher and a research lab technician. Serrell holds an MA in science teaching in informal settings and a BS in biology. In 1995, she was a guest scholar at the J. Paul Getty Museum and has received two National Science Foundation grants to conduct research on visitor behavior in museum exhibitions. She has been a frequent museum visitor all her life. Katherine Whitney is a museum consultant specializing in exhibit development and label writing. Her work has taken her into art, science, history and children's museums, as well as zoos and aquariums. She is particularly interested in how families engage with museums and has written about her own family's experiences. Whitney has an MA in Museum Studies and a BA in Art History.
Preface PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Guidelines and Essentials PART II: OVERVIEW 2. Behind It All: The Big Idea 3. What Are Interpretive Labels? 4. Types of Labels in an Exhibition 5. The Importance of Captions 6. Label Systems Photo Figures for Part IIxx PART III: CONSIDERING THE AUDIENCE 7. Who Is The Audience? 8. Audience Segmentation 9. The Number of Words 10. Readability Issues 11. Multilingual Labels 12. The Labels Voice: Who's Talking to Me? Photo Figures for Part III PART IV: ENHANCING THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE 13. Improving Orientation 14. Being Visitor Friendly 15. Making Words and Images Work Together 16. Labels That Ask Questions 17. Labels for Interactive Exhibits 18. Digital Label Strategies Photo Figures for Part IV PART V: TASKS 19. Getting Started, and Getting Done 20. Prototyping 21. Typographic Considerations 22. Production Materials and Issues 23. Evaluation After Opening Photo Figures for Part V PART VI: VOICES FROM THE FIELD PART VII: CONCLUSIONS 24. What Research Tells Us About Visitors 25. Essentials Takeaway Acknowledgements Photo Figure Index Bibliography Index
