Say you get a new job, one that’s your dream, but also that you’re grossly under-qualified for. You have limited experience, it requires you move to a different country and you basically have a month to do it. What would you do? Buy a book?
Well, congratulations you’re 100% like me.
Also you will buy this particular book because you liked the cover. #GoodChoices.
This book is not the bible of exhibition design it’s a low-stakes introduction, a sort of ‘which-one-where-does-what’ of exhibition design. I marvelled at the chapter on light finding it illuminating and inspiring, but when I read the chapter on interaction design I was left disappointed as it did not say anything! This may be due to the fact that I have never worked with any sort of lighting, but I do have a degree in interaction design.
The diversity is the book’s core strength, but also its weakness. It attempts to cover a lot and in doing so gives a very sparse account of the different processes. Though they are the right phases and in the right order (ish) there is, by necessity, a lack of details that is only really filled in when you’re the one doing the job (ask me how I feel about managing budgets under the looming threat of Brexit. JUST FUCKING ASK ME.)
The book includes some stunning visuals, if you’re really into museum spaces. The writing, however, is rather dry and especially towards the end some of the writing seemed wonky – sentences disappearing mid-page and never picked back up. It also changes point-of-view sometimes from client, to project manager, to contractor, to designer, but that didn’t bother me too much since my current role includes a little bit of everything. (Yes, I do have the best job in the world, thanks for asking.)
It did get quite specific at times; giving tools for managing projects and writing comprehensive briefs and all that stuff that’s really nice to be able to follow a template for the first time you do it
“Writing an interactive brief
1. The contest of the interactive(s) within the story of the exhibition.
2. The key content messages.
3. Key learning outcomes—what should the visitor take away from the experience?
4. Details of the assets available—this could be a list of objects, set of reference images, data information or moving film footage.
5. Audience profile—who is the intended audience?
6. Initial specifications of the audiovisual hardware likely to be used.
7. Budget.”
I just wish it had a bigger chapter on budgets.
Should you buy the book? Well it offers some value; I’ve used it as reference a couple of times, but mainly you’ll just have to learn by doing. Luckily your coworkers are a hoot and your boss is amazing. It doesn’t even matter that it took you 6 months to read the book about the stuff you should’ve known in the first place.