I strongly concur with Eugene's advice. I'm a proponent for left to right
in almost every case, and I think you'd have to have a VERY strong reason to
do right to left as well as the best of design and exhibit techniques to
make it clear to the visitor.
I remember walking by an exhibit case in what was, as I recall, on the right
side of a wide hall to the main entrance of a museum. (Going past frequently
on business with the director.) It was a case of 6 - 8 ft. length, and
every time I went by it I wondered why all that stuff was in it with no
clear message. (No labeling to help, either.) Then one day I stood directly
in front, looked at each item more closely and "the light dawned" when I
realized that the artifacts were arranged chronologically from right to left
(probably because people walked by in that direction on their way in). If
it had been arranged left to right, I believe the chronology would have been
immediately evident. I also wonder if people were less in a hurry as they
left the place and more likely to look at as they went the left to right
direction.
Lucy Sperlin
Butte County Historical Society
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Eugene Dillenburg
Sent: Friday, April 23, 2010 3:46 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Visitors reading timelines?
I've seen studies that show visitors find vertical time lines confusing.
Since this time line describes the evolution of horses, I would strongly
recommend starting with the past and moving toward the present. Otherwise,
you will show animals *losing* their adaptations and becoming *less*
horse-like -- which is not only confusing, but opposite the way evolution
works.
As for left vs. right, I agree with earlier postings: our culture has a very
strong left-to-right bias, and we shouldn't work against our visitors'
expectations. I would add the caveat: this applies if the time line is
something the visitors can take in all at once. If it is on a single
graphic panel, or if it stretches across a single case no more than 6 to 8
feet wide, then visitors will see the entire case or the entire panel as a
"unit," and read the unit from left-to-right, regardless of how they
approach it. However, if (as in the earlier seasonal example) the panel is
longer than 8 to 10 feet, if it's too big for them to take in all at once
but it's something they have to walk by and view in stages, then I would
suggest arranging it in the direction of traffic.
If you have illustrations of the various species (and you really should -- a
time line with nothing but Latin names isn't going to be very interesting),
be sure the animals are facing toward the present, regardless of which
direction that happens to be. Figures in profile move the eye in the
direction they are facing, and, as noted, evolution only makes sense if you
go from past to present.
-- Eugene Dillenburg
Exhibit Developer
Science Museum of Minnesota
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