Sharon,
 
It's probably better to think of size in terms of inches rather than points. Times New Roman will size differently than, say, Helvetica even though both are 18 point. And if you get into fancy fonts – always a bad idea for label text – size comparisons using points becomes impossible. Think of it instead as the height in inches of a capital "X" and you can better compare fonts, and create adequately sized label text that's readable by more people, including people with visual disabilities. For example, you can choose fonts that are 2/3" tall rather than 18 point (regardless of the font, 18 point seems a bit low for optimum readability). Anyway, Mitch Allen pointed out Beverly Serrell's Exhibit Labels, which is my Bible for label writing and design. I'll also highly suggest "Standards Manual for Signs & Labels" published by AAM and the Met. It offers very informative, detailed, and practical instructions on how to maximize readability. It's very short, but organized in a way that you can read through it as a book or refer to it as a reference later. Well worth the money and a fantastic compendium to Serrell.
 
Best,

George Garner
Director of Exhibitions
Center for History
808 West Washington, South Bend, IN 46601
www.centerforhistory.org // (574) 235-9664
 

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Celebrate Founders Month in August at the Center for History with a visit to the exhibitions, From Southold to South Bend and New Order on the Land.
----- Original Message -----
From: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">Sharon Koomler
To: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]
Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2005 10:57 AM
Subject: Re: Exhibit Label Text

Well,

It's sometimes wanting more information in the exhibit and sometimes the designer's idea of what looks best. I think that I learned no exhibit text should be smaller than 18pt, but then we have to consider the distance from the view, the light in the galleries, or in our case the lack of it!, and finally the amount of text that people are really willing to read.

We experiemented with fewer ID labels in galleries this season in favor of a bit more text, hoping that context would take priority. I believe that for next season as we update this exhibition we will add the smaller ID labels that have our interpretive staff says the public has missed.

Sharon Duane Koomler
Director of the Museum
Shaker Museum and Library
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