How Large Font for Wall Didactic in Art Museum
Pointers on Wall Labels for Your Art Exhibition
- August viii, 2019
- by Alyson Stanfield
Arroyo the making of the wall labels you place next to your artwork with thoughtfulness and mutual sense.
The Basics for Exhibition Labels Next to Your Art
Many fine art exhibitions open with a argument by the curator or artist. Those longer labels give context to what the viewer is about to run into and are placed at the entry to the show.
And then there are private labels adjacent to each artwork.
Your art labels should include your proper name, object title, and media/support/technique—at a minimum.
A retrospective of your work should also include the dates.
In a one-person exhibition, your name need non be as prominent on labels and you might, instead, make the championship larger and put it before your name. When showing with other people, distinguishing between artists is more important and names should be first.
If there are multiple rooms in the exhibition and your show'south title text doesn't appear anywhere near your works, y'all might need your name on every label.
If your work is hanging at a restaurant where a customer could stare at it for longer periods of time, your name should be on every characterization.
If the exhibit is small-scale or in a single room and in that location's a large sign with your name on information technology, you probably don't need your proper name on every characterization.
Size of Wall Labels for Your Art
The size of your labels depends on the size of the art, the size of the font y'all utilize, and the size of the oversupply expected. Museums that wait huge crowds for blockbuster shows need larger labels and so they can be read from farther abroad and over other people'south heads.
Just large labels look dizzy next to small works, like Margaret Kasahara's in the image above.
Labels used to be a lot smaller—think business organisation-carte du jour-sized—until studies showed that they were difficult to read. Make the font size at least fourteen points. Larger is better when you want the majority of your audience to be able to read the labels.
No need for large margins around the text on a label. Crop it closely.
You can include more than 1 artwork on a label (as in the epitome to the correct) as long as viewers can discern which information belongs with which piece.
1 Art Label, 3 Ways
Traditionally, titles of artworks are italicized. Y'all could, instead, make them assuming, all caps or larger than the other text. Distinguishing the titles is especially important if they requite clues almost the content of your piece of work, such every bit the location of a landscape.
"Mixed media" isn't a medium. Using information technology is like saying something is a "painting" instead of "oil on linen" or "sculpture" instead of "statuary." Spell out the various media you use within each mixed-media artwork. A curator is going to ask you that later anyway, then y'all might besides get-go treating your art like it'southward in a museum now.
If the work is for sale, prove the sale price on the characterization side by side to the art.
Labels can be printed on cardstock and stuck on the wall with rolled masking tape or something like Elmer'south Tack removable agglutinative putty. I don't recommend using the latter on textured walls because the adhesive gets caught in between the bumps.
For a more polished presentation print labels on regular newspaper, adhere the paper to mat board with spray glue, then cutting out with a mat cutter.
Labels within an exhibition should all be the same size unless there is need for longer, explanatory text.
Place object labels to the right if at all possible. Large sculpture may crave that yous place a label on the nearest wall or floor.
Hang all labels at the aforementioned height and employ a level to brand sure they are parallel to the floor.
Art Label Cheat Canvass
- Viewers must be able to see your name when looking at your work.
- People shouldn't have to gauge what your piece of work is made of.
- The price, if for auction, should exist clear.
- Exhibition labels should be thoughtfully fabricated. Whatsoever crooked sides or torn edges volition detract from an appreciation of your work.
- In a higher place all, the labels should be consistent throughout the exhibition.
Your Art Exhibition Installation
Etch your art show merely every bit yous would a composition. Each attribute can contribute to the success of the show or make information technology seem less than impressive.
It begins with curating the work, but there is and so much more that goes into a successful exhibition: training, installation, documentation, marketing, self-promotion, follow-up and more.
Click the graphic beneath to download a gratis comprehensive checklist for your show.
This post was originally published September 4, 2012. It has been updated with comments left intact.
49 thoughts on "Pointers on Wall Labels for Your Art Exhibition"
Source: https://artbizsuccess.com/wall-labels/
I've found that clear labels work the all-time. They look professional, attach well, and can easily be moved and removed. They come in diverse sizes (I utilise the shipping label size (2″ 10 4″ ).
Laurie: Merely don't apply them on textured walls. They look terrible! And they look bad when they kickoff coming off from the wall, so work best with shorter exhibitions. I've seen articulate labels that await actually bad. Gotta keep tending to them.
Exceptionally useful advice…wish I'd had it last week! LOL
Sorry I'k late, Victoria. Yous'll become 'em side by side time!
Just what the doctor ordered. Thanks Alyson!!
Yes, y'all have a bunch of exhibits coming upward, don't y'all Susan? Glad you lot constitute this helpful.
Any thoughts about including the size of the painting on the label?
Jennifer: I don't think that's necessary since the artwork is right in forepart of the viewer.
Hi Jennifer and Alyson,
Great suggest on the labels. I ever include the size of the painting. The reason existence that some people retrieve in numbers. They demand to know how big a painting is to exist able to envision it on the wall of their living room. Some customers don't need that information at all.
Question:
When should y'all NOT put a price on the label?
Col: When it's not for sale, when it's shown in a museum, or when the guidelines of the venue dictate.
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Cracking tips for labels… I don't know if your proffer to put labels to the right covers this, only my preference is to put the labels at eye level abreast the painting. I have shown with a number of artists who like the label beneath the painting and the cost in a show guide. The argument is that it looks professional. My thought is "Why make people piece of work so hard to learn nearly your work?"
Sandy: There'south all kinds of research on this. What is "eye level" for you might not be eye level for someone else.
This document gives a broad range of 36-67″.
In the museum, nosotros were very concerned with accessibility issues, so we placed them lower for people in wheelchairs. It's an center opener to go through your exhibit in a wheelchair!
Thanks for providing this helpful info. I'll try the color-full labels at my next art festival.
Groovy info! This is on my "to-do" list. Thanks!
How about including a pocket-sized QR code with link dorsum to your site/info?
John: Sure, that works, likewise. Be very conscientious that they don't go to your home page or a sales page. They MUST become to juicy information that pulls people in.
I may be pessimistic, but I see QR codes equally a waning fad. Whenever I utilize the QR codes at the museum, I observe I'm the just ane doing then. Are you finding more positive results?
I'm most to utilise QRs at an exhibition. They each go to a blog post that shows the whole start-to-finish process of the piece of work. Might be successful, might not, I'm new to the whole business!
Love it, Suzanne. I'd like to know more!
I've struggled for years for the best mode to do price labels for outdoor or indoor festivals. Everything in the berth is my work and my proper name is in several places, plus on the artwork, so name doesn't seem necessary. Everything needs to go up fairly quickly and the artwork is slightly dissimilar each time. I've settled on using tags which I prepare in batches with a lilliputian swish of watercolors. I put the championship and the price. Since I practise Mixed Media, I very much like the idea of adding the "ingredients" of each artwork. Good topic!
Thanks for the tips, Alyson. Just wondering. Many of the galleries use numbers next to the work so have a typed up listing for the patrons to concord as they walk through the gallery, with the information regarding the painting side by side to the corresponding number.
What are your thoughts regarding this type of identification?
Wonderful advice as always! I'm starting to offer prints of sure paintings and am considering putting that data on my labels for my upcoming open studio event. Something similar "Original $1500; Prints available". Would you suggest as well putting the price of the impress on the label (or not mentioning them in that location at all)?
Awesome advice! I've had a couple of shows at odd venues (ie: in the lobby of a local independent old movie theater) that didn't really take good places for business cards and the like. I decided to put QR codes on my tags that linked directly to the Etsy folio of the painting.
To attach labels, I use Scotch Foam Mounting Squares, specifically the removable ones. They easy to use, potent, attach to most any surface, and come off quickly. http://world wide web.amazon.com/dp/B004QMQ12E/
I actually use the Avery clean edge business cards for my labels: i side has all of the information about the artwork, the other is a business organization card. This gives a consistent size and format for the labels (you can set up templates just similar for accost labels), is easy to impress and a cakewalk to detach – no cutting involved! Then when the work sells, the collector takes dwelling the detailed information near my piece AND has a business bill of fare with all of my contact information. Another selection is to utilise the self-print postcards if you need a larger size to fit more information, like a story almost your artwork, or a mini-creative person statement. The postcards don't have as nice of terminate/print quality as the business organization cards though.
Great tip nearly the Elmer'due south affiche tack – I will definitely be using this instead of scotch tape. Thanks!
Thank you for the tips. Very useful web log!
Thanks for this info Alyson. I merely saw a fabled exhibit at The Portland Art Museum (Portland , OR) and the wall titles were semigloss messages adhered directly to the wall. Information technology was cute and elegantly understated but very legible.
Does anyone know what material that is? How information technology was done? Cheers!
Hi, David. Yes, those are probably vinyl. Whatever sign shop tin can print them for you.
Hullo Alyson,
Thank you for your advice.
I volunteer as office of the hanging team for a gallery that has very express funds. Today they had the data on business cards and affixed a piece of Scoth Brand clear record folded over on itself in each corner of the card. I am convinced at that place has to exist an as inexpensive way to affix the cards to a wall.
I would nigh grateful for any suggestions you may have.
Warm regards,
Astrid Adler
Astrid: I can't tell if you mean that they taped the artists' business cards or they printed on something the size of a business card.
Either fashion, masking tape (rolled) on the back would look much better. Nosotros used masking tape to hang most of our signs in the museum!
For vinyl letters you could use a cricut machine.
And, I utilize gorilla brand mucilaginous putty. It tin can be found at your local craft store in the craft/mucilage section. I so use a discount coupon that takes the price down to less than scotch tape.
I am thankful I found this site. It is reassuring to know I'm on the right track.
I am in a show this weekend where each artist hangs their own art. I am curious how the labels are going to look because five different artists are each bringing their own.
That certainly is an issue, Mechel. Sounds similar yours will stand up out above the rest.
I am manager of a pocket-size community arts center with a beautiful footling gallery space. We accept a variety of artists showing in our infinite – some bring very nice looking labels and others make it with sticky accost labels that pare off very easily or just don't work well in our space for whatever reason. Growing tired of this, I recently purchased plastic acrylic holders in standard business card size. Some are flat and we added velcro dots to hold them on our carpeted walls. Others are "50" shaped for utilise with 3D pieces on pedestals and in our display case. Artists tin can easily send me a spreadsheet with details in columns. Then I can do a mail merge to an avery template and print on avery business organisation cards. It is perhaps a small improvement, but so wonderful to present a more polished look in our gallery.
Sounds perfect, D! You lot are in a position to instill professional person practices in the artists y'all piece of work with. I encourage yous to utilize each opportunity to educate them.
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Exactly was I was searching for. 🙂 I'thousand working on branding for an artist and this was really helpful for the vignette. The only matter that I'm not sure about, I don't recall I saw the size on which they should be printed on…
Howdy, Isabelle. I'one thousand happy this is helpful for you lot. The size kind of depends on the size of the audience and the size of the font. Let me update this right now.
Added, Isabelle! Unfortunately I can't exist verbal, just I hope those extra guidelines are helpful. Thanks for asking.
I concur about the "Mixed Media" clarification needing to be specific near materials used. My question is, how specific do you need to be? For case, I oftentimes utilise both watercolor pencils and watercolor from a palette. Exercise I have to spell that out or can I but say "watercolor"?
The labels you link to aren't foam. So exercise you utilise cream ones or the ones in the link?
This is so helpful, thanks. Your site has become my "become to" for this kind of question.
I am starting to evidence some limited edition linocut prints.
My question is – would I put the specific number on the label (E.g. 9/thirteen) or just say how big the edition is (East.g. Edition of 13)
Many thanks!
Hi Alyson —
I besides really like the no-nonsense arroyo you offer in your guidelines. I wonder if you can recommend a characterization protector production – acrylic perchance. We are leasing artwork from a museum for long-term display in the public areas of a Hilton Hotel that will open presently. I demand something durable that protects the card stock label that doesn't look tacky.
Cheers !
Stephen: Yep! You can put acrylic over the labels. Simply brand sure it doesn't have too much of a glare on it. You tin likewise have fancier labels printed at print shops–on material that is more durable. Many museums use the newspaper on height of mat board arroyo, merely they have guards in all of the rooms to make sure people aren't mucking effectually with the labels. Adept luck! And thank you for dropping in.
Hullo there, please could you lot let me know what font you have used for these labels?
All-time wishes
I'chiliad non sure which labels you lot're referring to, Rebecca, but the just ones I "made" were the digital examples of Arthur Jackson. And I did that so long ago (near 20 years) that I can't remember.
what do you suggest for labelling artwork in a hospital setting? Do transparent labels work in a long term situation?
Sande: I would do the same characterization. Y'all tin use plexiglas or something else more durable for longer term—every bit long equally the full credit is visible. Thank you for asking.