glossary

	Exhibition Signage Glossary Hannah Jennings
accessible	1. Physically accessible: functional for people with disabilities and/or small children. 2. Intellectually accessible: material that is focused, organized, and presented in a manner that is easy for people to absorb. Our texts are written for readers who are interested but not necessarily knowledgeable.
accommodation	Provision made to ensure that people with disabilities can use and enjoy an exhibition and are provided with information other guests receive. Examples: touchable sculpture, audio tour, ramp, information repeated outside an inaccessible location.
ADA	Americans with Disabilities Act: federal civil rights legislation designed to remove barriers to accessibility for people with disabilities, including impaired vision. The law has a few specific provisions relating to signage.
advance organizer	A sign at the entrance to an exhibit explaining what the exhibit is about. Research has shown that people learn and remember more if they are set up to pay attention to a certain topic. Orientation to the physical layout of an exhibit, which is important for guests’ confidence in entering, may or may not occur on the same sign as this conceptual organizer. See “orientation sign.”
big idea	Carefully phrased statement of exactly what an exhibit is about. “The big idea provides an unambiguous focus for the exhibit team throughout the exhibit development process by clearly stating in one noncompound sentence the scope and purpose of an exhibition.” (Serrell, Exhibit Labels: an interpretive approach, 1996). The big idea focuses on a topic, and is used as a standard to measure the relevance of individual components. Does each element support the big idea? Once a big idea is established, the interpretive team can determine the key messages that are critical to include in an exhibit plan. The wording of the big idea need not appeal to the public, although the big idea itself should be neither too elementary to interest nor too complex to be achievable in the context of the exhibit. See “message.”
conceptual map	In wayfinding, a conceptual map is an abstracted, simplified image of the physical layout of a space. People need to get a basic concept of a space in their minds as the first step in understanding how to find their way from their current location to a destination. "Conceptual" refers to the fact that it's in their heads, but it's a map of spaces, not a map of ideas. Designing a space so that it's easy to create a conceptual map is the most effective way to make wayfinding simple. Note: The term “conceptual map” has a different meaning when applied to learning theory.
directional	Any sign pointing to a destination and telling people which way to go, usually using arrows.
discovery elements	Exhibit components that encourage play, exploration, or surprises
donor recognition	Signs that acknowledge donors, generally at the beginning or end of an exhibition. Very high-end donors may have their names attached to a facility and be recognized in an exhibit’s title sign.
Excellent Judge	Anyone who participates in the "Excellent Judges" framework process for assessing a learning exhibit from the visitor experience perspective. See the book and CD Judging Exhibitions by Beverly Serrell (designed by Hannah Jennings).
exhibit evaluation	Also referred to as “testing” or, where the knowledge gained has broader application, "research.” Systematic study of guests’ interactions with exhibits and interpretive components, which can include: how well the item attracts attention, how long it holds attention, whether interactives are correctly used, whether guests understand ideas, or how an experience makes guests feel. See “formative evaluation,” “front end evaluation,” and “summative evaluation.”
formative evaluation	Systematic testing of texts or prototypes with members of the public to determine whether draft text, preliminary design, and/or other elements are successful before final production.
front-end evaluation	Systematic testing of potential visitors’ pre-existing knowledge of and interest in an exhibit topic. Focus groups and surveys are typical methods of collecting this information. Front-end evaluation is an important tool for determining the appropriate level of detail on a topic, and for developing hooks for catching our guests’ attention and imagination.
fun fact	Also called “factoid.” Amusing or impressive information unrelated to the big idea of an exhibit. Research shows that unrelated bits are not well-retained, and do not tend to have a large impact on guests’ understanding or behavior. However, fun facts can be useful hooks to get people into subjects of more importance.
goals	Broad statements about what an exhibition hopes to achieve. Also see “objectives.”
hook	A idea/device to make an exhibit appealing, used for marketing the exhibit rather than directly supporting the intellectual content. A title might be chosen to highlight a hook.
ID	Also called “identification label.” A small sign identifying each object or species in an exhibit, always located where guests can see both signs and objects or animals at the same time. In mixed species exhibits, an illustration must be included. ID texts are always very short. An ID may have a catchy headline that gives people the main point of a message relating to the big idea and/or encourages them to read the label. The name of the object or animal is then integrated into the first line of text to encourage visitors to read. It is emphasized with boldface type and can be picked out easily. Scientific names, where included, are small and placed to minimize visual clutter.
identity	A variety of attributes which combine to impress guests with an overall concept about what the museum is and why exists. The collection, architecture, exhibits, landscaping, staff behavior and uniforms, and the messages and appearance of signage are some of the components of identity. Graphic standards—color palette, type treatment, logo and illustration styles—are powerful identity tools In addition to an overall identity, individual exhibits and certain other programs may have identities of their own, subservient to the institution’s overall identity.
immersion exhibit	Exhibit designed to bring guests into an experience, often a habitat, instead of having guests look through a window into a different world. Interpretation elements can be designed to support various immersion experiences throughout the institution: materials, typography, and illustrations are selected to augment the exhibits and the ideas being expressed.
interpretive	Any sign or related communication device that carries educational content about an exhibition’s collection or messages.
interactive	Any sign (or other communication device) that involves guests in interactions in order to fully understand the message being presented. Examples are signs with flips or wheels, audio/visual experiences, games, or computers. Research has shown that interactives, when properly designed, can increase guests’ attraction to interpretives and enhance understanding of their content. However, it is important to avoid interaction for interaction’s sake: this technique should only be used when it is the most appropriate tool for teaching a message. Maintenance costs are much higher for interactives than for flat graphics, and maintenance is critical to the success of all interpretation programs.
intergenerational sharing	Interactions among different ages of guests, typically family members. Exhibits can encourage such behaviors, increasing the impact of a visit on both children and adults.
label	See “ID.”
learning mode/preference	Different people have different preferences for how they learn, for example: visually, orally, or experientially. Exhibits should provide a variety of opportunities for learning in different modes to reach the maximum number of guests, as well as to provide variety for everyone.
levels of information	Interpretive panels are frequently written to provide a variety of levels of information on the same topic. Headlines convey the most basic message (while encouraging readers to go on), subheads go a bit deeper, and body texts explain still more. This treatment allows readers to browse for topics of interest to them, and helps get the message in as much detail as possible to each reader.
message	The term “message” is applied in a variety of situations. Intended messages are communication objectives. Each exhibit is designed to communicate one major concept. This is the exhibit’s main communication objective, but to avoid confusion we refer to it as the big idea (see “big idea.”) Once an exhibit’s big idea has been established, the interpretive team develops a set of key messages that must be communicated in order to support the big idea. Each sign, or other interpretive component, helps support one of these key messages. Before text is written, the team articulates sign messages (and other kinds of objectives: see “objectives”).
more interested visitor	That segment of our audience interested in taking the time to study a subject in depth in the museum or zoo setting. Research indicates that this audience is extremely limited in size.
multiple entry exhibit	An exhibit of freestanding elements not designed to be encountered in any specific order. This is the opposite of a sequenced or story line exhibit.
objectives	Specific, measurable outcomes an exhibit or sign is designed to achieve. Clarifying objectives helps focus exhibit development efforts and allows for measuring whether an exhibit is successful. Objectives may fall into different categories:
	affective	What the design team wants guests to feel
	cognitive	What the design team wants guests to think or learn
	behavior	What the design team wants guests to do
orientation sign	Information about the physical layout of an exhibit, usually including a map, to assist guests in deciding whether to enter, locate the entrance in relation to the exit, and give a sense of how long the experience will take. In large or complex exhibits, orientation may also be placed along the route. Also see “advance organizer” for conceptual rather than physical orientation.
parent prompt	Sign directed to a parent or other care-giver with suggestions about how children might be encouraged to explore an exhibit or idea.
prototype	Temporary, inexpensive version of an interpretive created either to try out physical scale and mechanics, or for formative evaluation with the public.
regulatory signage	Signs that inform the public about rules and logistics, with no educational or inspirational content. Examples are “Staff only” and “Stroller parking.”
story line	The exhibit experience from the guest’s point of view: the order messages and experiences occur (to the extent that the experience is likely to be sequential), set dressing to create an effect, intended interactions among the collection, exhibit elements, interpretives, and people.
summary panel	Sign close to the exit of a exhibit that reemphasizes the big idea and leaves the reader with a sense of closure and, ideally, inspiration.
summative evaluation	Systematic testing of an exhibit after it is open to determine whether it met its objectives. Ideally, contingency funding should be available to make adjustments at this stage.
temporary signs	Signs created for opening events, and signs explaining temporary situations such as closed exhibits.
title sign	This is the name of the exhibit that appears "over the door." The name must match that on maps and in advertising. The best titles act as advance organizers, but a title's most important functions are to let people know they have arrived at the exhibit, and to encourage them to enter.
traffic sign	Directional signs on surrounding streets and highways (not interstate freeways) that help guests find the institution.
visual clutter	Extraneous elements that overwhelm readers and discourage appropriate focus on the main message.
voice	Text tone and point of view. Signs should reflect a sense that a consistent narrator is speaking (unless multiple narrators are indicated for different audiences or subjects).
wayfinding sign	Those signs that assist guests in finding their way to and through an exhibit. The graphics employed should have a strong identity since visitors quickly learn to look for such cues.
wayfinding system	Every aspect of the experience that helps visitors find their way, including park, building, or exhibit layout, landmarks, maps, directories, employee training, and signs.
You-Are-Here map	Stationary map which identifies the current location of the reader. To be effective, the map must include at least two easily identified orientation landmarks that are in plain view to readers standing at the map board.

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