Interpretation

“Interpretation is the process by which museums communicate with their visitors. It is as much about stories, ideas and emotions, as it is about understanding and information… Effective interpretation is increasingly important to museums as they strive to explain the wonder of their collections, connect with visitors and draw and inspire diverse audiences.” (Scottish Museums Council, 2004)

Interpretation is not just a presentation of the facts. It is a means of delivering stories and messages in an interesting, meaningful and relevant way to your audience; layering information to take account of differing learning styles, access requirements and audience types; this takes practice, planning and time.

Developing an interpretation plan, or policy, is an excellent way to establish the principles that are important to the organisation when developing or commissioning interpretation, and to start thinking about the stories you want to tell in each exhibition. The plan should be clear, concise, practical and easy for the staff team to use and understand. The following headings should help the team think about what needs to be considered and included.

Having made the important decision to devote, time, resources and money into putting on an exhibition, the following questions need to be asked:

• What do we want to do and how do we intend to achieve it?
• Is the priority to increase the understanding of the collections, increase the number of visitors, encourage and engage new audiences, or develop new audiences through partnerships, collaborations and touring exhibitions?
• What do we want visitors to feel, experience, and learn from the interpretation; what messages do we want them to take away?

Targeting exhibitions at ‘the general public’ makes interpretation more difficult and less engaging. There should be a more specific target audience; that is not to say that other audiences will disregard what is presented, but a conceptual focus is needed. Such a focus will help to guide the exhibition team’s presentation of objects, images and written material. Subsequent exhibitions can be designed to target different groups.

Audience research and consultation, including the use of focus groups, youth panels, access groups, visitors and non-visitors, are essential for establishing the target group for each exhibition. The participants can suggest areas of interpretation that are unclear and, in certain circumstances, such as the development of a community exhibition, they can be encouraged to provide interpretive text.

The target audiences chosen should always reflect those identified within the organisation’s Audience Development Plan and Interpretation Policy. When working on touring exhibitions in collaboration or as a lead partner, the policies of each venue need to be considered. If you are producing a touring exhibition to be marketed to a wide range of venues, you should be clear about the target audience for whom it has been developed, so each prospective venue is able to assess its suitability against their aims and objectives.

The following represent some of the key target groups for exhibitions:

• Families: interpret with activities in which parents can take part with their children, such as quizzes, trails and art activities
• Schools: where possible, link into the curriculum in new and interesting ways and provide teachers’ packs so they can prepare for their exhibition visit. Both require consultation with teachers and with touring venues as they may have differing priorities and in some cases different curriculums
• Visitors with disabilities: interpret the exhibition in a multi-sensory way, including use of large print, tactile objects, videos with subtitles, panels at wheelchair height, etc. This will require a conversation with your access group or other access representatives who will tell you what you need to provide. Never make assumptions on behalf of disabled people
• Particular ethnic communities or people from a non-English speaking culture: translate spoken and written text into other languages. If appropriate to the subject, ask members of that community to donate and describe objects that are important in their culture. Ensure that this information remains relevant if the exhibition is to tour
• Specialists: Provide up to date technical information, references, catalogue information

Many museums and galleries do not have a dedicated Interpretation Officer. The role frequently falls within the job description of Curator, Learning and Access Officer, or someone on the exhibitions team. Even if the role is clearly the responsibility of one member of staff, it is important to involve other key colleagues in the development of the interpretation.

If you are developing a touring exhibition with other organisations it is essential that their teams are involved in every step of this process. As the lead partner, you must establish the roles and responsibilities of each venue from the start, to ensure that lines of communication and expectations are clear. If you have developed an exhibition in-house and then decide to tour, it is important to explain carefully to the proposed venue precisely which elements of the exhibition are included in the tour, the components that can be changed, and what additional material might be available.

Approaches to the supply of interpretation with touring exhibitions vary widely between organisers. At the time of writing (2015) some exhibition developers, such as the Crafts Council and Design Museum, produce and provide the venue with all of the interpretation in an installation-ready format; others including the V&A provide the graphics, teacher packs, marketing material etc. as digital documents or files, allowing the venue to print/produce their own version of the interpretation. See the [case studies – TO BE ADDED] associated with this chapter for more information. If this approach is taken it is important to ensure that all graphics are signed off by your venue before production, to ensure quality, consistency and accurate branding. Finally, a tour developer may give venues maximum flexibility, providing them with a range of objects and a concept, and licence to develop their own exhibition interpretation.

As a tour developer, it is important to have a sense of the needs of the venues you are marketing to; whether they want to be able to tailor the exhibition, and customise or produce the interpretation themselves, or if they are looking for a complete, ready-to-install exhibition. As a hirer, dependent on your staff capacity and the perceived needs of your audience, ensure you understand the type and format of the interpretation that you will receive as part of the tour package.

Each of the following staff members, or equivalents, has an important part to play in developing interpretation for new exhibitions:

• Curator/researcher: vital for specialist knowledge of the background and narrative content of the exhibition
• Learning and Access Officer: knowledge of learning styles, access issues, use of language, audiences, presentation to the public and tone of voice
• Exhibition Teams and Designer: able to visualise how interpretive ideas might be translated in practice, how the exhibition might reflect the theme, what designs and mounting techniques will and will not work, how to include AV, high and low tech interactives
• Marketing Officer: skilled at presenting publicity to target audiences in relevant and engaging formats, and managing audience development
• Digital manager: looking at web content, new technologies, social media

It is possible to buy in professional support in the form of an interpretation consultant. If the budget can stretch to this, it is a useful means of supplementing staff expertise and providing an objective viewpoint on the presentation of the exhibition.

If the exhibition is going to tour, it is important that representatives from the other sites are involved in this process where possible and appropriate. The interpretation may need to be adapted depending on the nature of the site and local audience. In addition there may be exhibits in other venues’ collections that can supplement the existing displays, which will also require interpretation.

It is essential to get the content right; if there are problems with the basic narrative, there will be problems with every area of interpretation. Try and get a good balance; too little information can be frustrating, too much is unnecessary and can be intrusive. Allow visitors to make their own discoveries and try not to over-simplify. Each piece of interpretation needs to communicate a single, or limited number of themes; always avoid the ‘book on the wall’, try and change the pace by introducing short quotes, one-line facts and even jokes.

When the aim of the exhibition, and therefore the interpretation plan, has been agreed, it is helpful to have an agreed specific theme, story or series of themes, for the exhibition. Whereas the title might indicate the overall topic, for example, ‘The Egyptians’, themes are more developed concepts that the visitor could take with them, such as ‘Egypt has a very long history’ or ‘Egyptians believed in the afterlife, but were not obsessed with death.’ Try to identify the most exciting angle for your target audience. The content of the interpretation can then help to reinforce these concepts by developing stories and stimulating mental images throughout the displays. The visual elements of the exhibition design should also be complementary to the themes.

Try to relate the text to the audience and take special care if the exhibition is to tour; look at what additional information may need to be included to add context, or what might need to be removed to ensure that different audiences or communities are taken into account. Also think about the space required for written interpretation translated into other languages – for example exhibitions touring to Wales might require bilingual interpretation.

A layered approach and developing a text hierarchy works well for most audience types. Some designers work with a ‘Content Outline’ document which helps break down the ideas into headings such as:

Download an example text strategy.

This helps to organise the themes, and pulls out interesting facts or more technical detail that can be designed as a suite of information. It also asks the team to decide if images, audio-visual displays or interactive displays will help the interpretation at this point.

Interpretation should be embedded within the exhibition planning process from the start, rather than being an afterthought. The design itself can then help to convey appropriate messages to the target audience, along with the text, graphic design, audio visual, interactives and other media.

The staff team will need to discuss how visitors will move through the exhibition space. Sometimes displays are organised in a linear or chronological order, others are less prescriptive. Interpretation can help to give visitors a direction, but the interpretation may need to take into account that visitors may choose their own route or, if the exhibition is to travel the layout may not be the same. It is therefore best that the interpretive devices make sense in isolation from each other, even though they are relating to the same overall themes.

Many techniques can be used to provide a comprehensive interpretive package for an exhibition, these include:

• Indoor and outdoor graphic and text panels: These can be durable, long lasting and low maintenance. They reach the largest audience and can include images, illustrations, maps and diagrams to add context. When touring, ensure that graphic panel shapes and sizes can be accommodated; it is expensive to provide additional panels and have them redesigned.
• Object labels: should be simple and consistent. Depending on the type of material to be displayed this might be: object name, description, date, location/ country of origin, possible object number.
• Activity: packs and gallery trails, teachers’ guide: This is a good way to engage school groups in advance of a visit and encourage families to learn together. They can also be used to encourage visitors to explore the museum/gallery beyond the exhibition space. Providing a template for touring venues to include their own requirements can be very helpful.
• Audio guide: This is an excellent media for presenting dialogue, multilingual information, narrative and contextual information for all visitors and especially helpful for those with visual impairments. Although there is a cost and time requirement at the start of the production process, the information can be downloaded from the organisation’s website and visitors can now use their own smart phones or other appropriate equipment. Care needs to be taken, especially for visually impaired visitors, that information is amended to take touring venues into account. The down side of Audio guides is that they can have an isolating effect if the visitors have come as a group. There are also maintenance issues if equipment is hired in.
• Audio visual media: This can be very effective and, if well produced, really add context, excitement and drama to an exhibition. This is also a great way to include BSL or deaf and hearing impaired visitors. Ensure all material is closed captioned and speak to touring venues to ensure that the languages used are appropriate and that they are able to maintain this equipment. There is nothing worse than an expensive AV with an ‘out of order’ sign.
• Interactives: High tech and low tech interactives have a place in many exhibitions. Small children like to have physical games to play. Older children and adults can find high tech digital interaction very effective. These can take a long time to develop and are often expensive and complex to produce and maintain. When touring, it is essential to have a long term strategy in place to deal with the maintenance, and to ensure that the venue is able to manage the day to day maintenance of the equipment. It is really important that the exhibition is not completely reliant on complex media for the interpretation; if it fails the exhibition will make no sense at all.
• Digital, social media and web-based information: As a lot of visitors will use the web to get basic information about time an place of an exhibition it is really useful to provide taster information about the exhibition and information to download for a tour, a teachers’ pack or quiz sheet which can be discussed with families before they visit. This information will also assist a variety of visitors with disabilities, helping them to understand the venue before a visit. Many exhibitions now also use social media to engage visitors during and after their visit, allowing images and comments to be uploaded to social media sites.
• Catalogue or publication: These can be targeted to a different audience from the main interpretation and also include more in-depth information. Other, smaller booklets or leaflets can be carried around to enhance the visit; all print can be a memento of the visit. Printed information should be carefully considered for touring exhibitions. Does the venue have a sales point and storage, is the language appropriate, how many copies will need to be produced, does it need new information for a new site?
• Live interpretation: Actors; guided tours, including BSL; gallery talks; demonstrations, gallery staff: There is a variety of live interpretation that is used across exhibition venues. In each case, this human intervention can achieve a dimension of interpretation that cannot be reached through traditional graphic panels. The beauty of having people as interpreters is that they can adapt readily to a variety of audiences and in many instances, the communication can be two-way, especially if object handling material is available. Live interpretation also lends itself to inclusive practice because of the use of a variety of methods to facilitate learning.
• Live Events and activities: These can create an entertaining spectacle, bringing a time and space alive. Events such as performances, demonstrations, and making activities all require space, organisation and marketing. They can be expensive and costs for materials and performers will have to be negotiated with touring venues.

Under the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful for service providers to treat disabled visits less favourably. This means that if you provide interpretation, you should do it in a way that considers the needs of disabled people.

Remember that the more types of media used in an exhibition, the more expensive it will be. It is also important to have a clear timetable for the interpretation development and production phase; leaving it to the last minute makes this essential element of the exhibition seem ‘bolted on’, and can also add significant costs.

Getting consents, copyright and permissions also adds time and costs. You must also ensure that when applying for permissions, touring is taken into consideration. Many companies will charge more if you intend to use an image or document in more than one venue or online. If an introduction panel is going outside a venue, you may also have to seek and pay for planning permission.

Top tips:

• Keep text brief but interesting, do not use too much curatorial or academic jargon as visitors’ interest will be lost, explain any difficult terms in plain English
• Try to be informal and friendly in your approach, call the reader ‘you’ and anticipate their questions
• Use a hierarchy of text, where the first sentence or paragraph conveys the essence of the panel or caption, and then the reader can find further layers of information below that if they wish
• Ensure text size is appropriate for the viewing distance and lighting levels
• Do not use fancy fonts or italics, as they can prove difficult for those who are visually impaired or not confident readers
• Keep a good contrast between text and background so the words can be easily made out, this also helps people with dyslexia
• Include translations into other languages wherever possible; it is important to research the ethnic make-up of your local area in particular and cater for those visitors accordingly
• Place exhibits and panels at a height convenient for children people of short stature or wheelchair users. Never put labels on the floor
• Provide interpretation in different accessible formats, such as a Braille version of labels or an academic publication for those with a specialist interest in the subject
• Make sure all appropriate logos, copyright permissions, and thank yous are included on an acknowledgments panel for each venue

• https://www.museumsgalleriesscotland.org.uk/advice/new-museums/connecting-with-visitors/
• www.hlf.org.uk/interpretation-guidance
• Redisplaying Museum Collections, Hannah Paddon, Ashgate, 2014

Author: Maria Ragan (2015)