An exhibition that works isn’t just about putting objects in a space; rather, it’s a story that visitors experience gradually. There’s a big difference between an exhibition people won’t remember and an exhibition people will, and that often comes down to one thing: designing stories in space.
All Exhibitions Have a Story
Exhibitions designers must decide on the story they want to tell before they start thinking about the form and look of the exhibition. This story could be linear like the structure of a book or it could be more emotive and conceptual. What’s important is that the story is clear. When an exhibition has a story that isn’t clear, it just becomes a collection of random things.
Space as a Storytelling Device
Exhibition design has become a storytelling device, with space itself being the medium. Walls, paths, lighting, and the placement of objects become sentences in the language of the exhibition. These elements are all used to create tension or to focus the visitor’s attention or to guide the visitor’s response. Visitors may be led through a narrow corridor and then emerge into a wide space that allows them a moment to reflect or reach a resolution.
Control the Pace
Exhibitions should move at different speeds. Everything should not happen all at the same rate. Some spaces should feel packed while other should feel spacious. This creates a rhythm, and helps the brain absorb the information as it is offered and gives the mind a moment to react, which creates a contrast of emotions.
Plan for the Emotion of the Space
Great exhibitions include emotionally strong experiences that become the memory of the visit long after. The exhibition could contain a powerful graphic, an interative piece, or a surprise spatial change. These become the memory anchors for the visitor’s memory, helping them recall the whole exhibition.
Tie It All Together
Every exhibition has a number of different parts to it, and they all need to feel like one unified event. The transition from one zone of the exhibition to another needs to be smooth and not jarring. The lighting, materials, and cues need to tie the experience together rather than just creating the impression of two completely different rooms.
Exhibition Design as Storytelling
Exhibitions are stories in space, and when the space, emotion, and form come together, the visitor doesn’t just experience the exhibition, they experience the journey. The best exhibitions are not remembered for what they had to say but for how they felt to be experiencing.