For more information, please contact Lisa Levinson in the Denver Art Museum Publications Department, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Write for people who are reading on their feet.

• Be brief.
• 50–70 words for object labels, 150 words or less for section labels
• To increase readability:
• Chunk into short paragraphs.Use bullets.
• Bold or underline main ideas.
• Repeat yourself.
• Write at a 6- to 8th-grade reading level.

Use lively language.

• Avoid abstractions.
• Get specific.
• Use figures of speech.
• Write like people talk.
• Seek out and destroy passive constructions.
• Think twice before using forms of the verb “to be” (is, are, was, or were).
• Use quotes.

Anticipate roadblocks.

• Answer obvious questions.
• Address misconceptions.
• Deal with negative reactions.

 

Lend them your spark.

• Let them in on the human interest stories.
• Surprise!
• Have a sense of humor.
• Share those fascinating facts.

Do more than tell facts.

• Start with what’s visible.
• Ask yourself, “Will this info help the visitor get more out of what’s on view?”
• Instead of asking “What do visitors need to know,” try “What kind of experience will visitors get from this label?”
• Try to get ‘em to stop and look closely.
• Base your labels on observations.
• Guide, but leave room for discovery.
• Teach skills or share information that visitors can practice on their own.
• Awaken curiosity.
• Provoke controversy, encourage discussion, stimulate independent thought.

Don’t

• Don’t write labels that build off each other.
• Don’t use specialized terms without defining them.
• Don’t tell your visitors what they think.
• Don’t make value judgments.
• Don’t refer to things that aren’t on display.
• Don’t describe what visitors can see for themselves.
• Don’t write to hear yourself write.
• Don’t write for your colleagues.
• Don’t ask questions without answers.

Some things to ask yourself when you’re reviewing a label.

• Is it clear?
• Is it concise? Does every word and every sentence contribute to the meaning?
• Is it lively and interesting?
• Is its tone friendly, or at least not intimidating?
• Are specialized terms defined or made clear from context?
• Is this how you would talk about this object to a novice relative or friend?
• If you had no background in the subject and this were the first label you read in the exhibition, would you understand it?
• Does this label answer the basic questions a visitor might have about the object?
• Will this information help the visitor look more closely at the object or get more out of it?
• Does the information start with what’s visible and move on to less tangible facts?
• Would this label provoke discussion? Awaken curiosity? Inspire?
• Does the label feel relevant—connected to the world outside your institution?
• Does the label encourage independent thought?