Museums and Silent Objects: Designing Effective Exhibitions

In museums, visitors are immediately drawn to striking or iconic objects, but there are many less conspicuous but important items which illustrate cultural contexts and content and are equally deserving of their attention. The authors of Museums and Silent Objects, offer a methodology for judging the quality of museum exhibitions from the visitor’s perspective, and offer practical tools for museum professionals to evaluate displays, and design new galleries and exhibits. Fully illustrated and based on studies of world-famous galleries, this book is essential reading for those creating effective museum displays.

In a society where split-second decisions about the value of things are grounded on how they look, museum visitors are often drawn to visually striking or iconic objects. This book investigates the question of the treatment of items on display in museums which are less conspicuous but potentially just as important as the striking objects, arguing that it is important to show that all objects illustrate potentially interesting cultural contexts and content. The authors explore the disciplines of architecture, design, cognitive science and museology and offer a methodology by which the quality of museum exhibitions can be judged from a visitor-centred perspective. They provide new insights into the visitor-object encounter and the relationship between visitors, objects and museums. In addition the book offers a set of useful practical tools for museum professionals - for audience research, evaluating museum displays, and for designing new galleries and striking exhibitions. Richly illustrated with photos and diagrams, and based on studies of famous galleries in world-renowned museums, the book will be essential reading for all those concerned with creating effective exhibitions in museum.