Ideas For Museums

According to the American Alliance of Museums, there are at least 17,500 museums in the United States.

From small rural museums in the Midwest to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, everyone wants to draw a little attention to their prized collections! Here are a few suggestions for how you can utilize large format print to spread the word about your upcoming artwork, curios, memorabilia and miscellany.

Idea #1: Fabric Murals

Britten prints directly to several fabrics that are ideal for museum quality exhibitions.

Shown above, these photographs by artist Charles Lindsay were printed larger than life on a luxurious fabric material that covered every wall in the exhibit. The abstract designs combine with the larger-than-life canvas for a very “other-worldly” experience!

Each material is available in long rolls measuring over 120″ in width, including a white/black/white material that was used for this exhibit both for its bright white color and to eliminate any sort of washout or back lighting. This fabric has a tactile quality that doesn’t cast a glare, and it feels as luxurious as a movie screen curtain. Environmentally friendly inks add to the appeal.

Also included in this exhibit were several free standing backlit displays that added a unique sense of intrigue. Britten offers a number of standard BriteWall LED systems that can be wall mounted or set up as a double-sided pedestal, as shown below.

Idea #2: Photo Cutouts & Mixed Media

The 50 best players in vintage uniforms really jumped off the wall in these photo cutouts that were featured in the “Born to Play Ball” exhibit at the Gerald R. Ford Museum.

These life size photos add excitement and compliment the actual game jerseys, bats and gloves used by the players themselves that were safely secured in glass display cases.

Britten’s team includes Décor experts who are true masters at creating immersive 3D environments like this one. (Learn more about Britten’s approach to project management and what we can do to bring your concept to reality!)

Idea #3: Object Labels and Placards

Interesting piece of museum trivia… what’s a fancy art school name for the large panels that introduce a section of an exhibit? They’re called Didactic Placards (French “plaques didactiques”), and they are a great way to bring a bit of history or context to the display.

Britten offers many rigid substrates and a flatbed press that can print full color as well as perfectly crisp white text onto a solid black piece of material. For the historical photographs at lower right of the placard above, a layer of white ink is laid down before the standard CMYK inks.

And they can also be router cut to any shape. Add some visual interest and reinforce your exhibit’s theme by connecting it the form of the object labels!

Shown below, these placards were mounted on barrels which also helped reinforce the theme at the Lincoln & the Canal exhibit at Lock 16 in LaSalle.

Idea #4: Exterior Billboards & Frames

One of the best advertisements for your museum is large, street facing billboard that announces your currently featured exhibit, or one that is opening soon. Changing that banner frequently, however, can often be a challenge!

Ideal for large exterior displays, Britten’s BannerRail Display Systems make it easy to update your current information without throwing a banner over the side of your roof or renting an expensive lift to hoist your banners. Using a mechanical hoist and two vertical rails, your upcoming exhibit information is quickly updated and looks perfectly tensioned.

Voila! Everyone will be looking forward to the opening of your next exhibit!

Idea #5: Ceiling Banners & Hoist Systems

Ceiling banners are a great opportunity to utilize large open spaces with particularly high ceilings. And yet the same challenge applies: how do you change the banners on a regular basis, without using an impossibly high ladder or renting a difficult-to-maneuver lift?

Britten created a patented ceiling hoist specifically to satisfy this need. Our BannerDrop display systems operate with a remote control frequency that raises and lowers banners (or any other media) with the push of a button.

Shown above, these systems were installed at the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum to promote constantly changing Imax features, but BannerDrop systems have also been used to hoist everything from cubes to inflatable spheres, mobile structures and more.

How could your museum be utilizing its high ceiling areas?

Idea #6: Light Pole Banners & Brackets

Light pole banner programs are a great way for museums and other non-profits to spread the word around town about upcoming promotions and events. Shown above at left, the city of Dallas actively promotes the arts and culture with tasteful and constantly updated banner designs.

Elsewhere at a much smaller town in America, the banners above at right used a gold foil on top of the banners which caught the reflection of the sun, reminiscent of the ancient gold that was on display in the exhibit’s showcases!

Britten’s patented wind-spilling BannerSaver bracket is the perfect solution for exterior light poles and specified in cities on six continents.

Idea #7: Donor Recognition Signage

We understand how important it is for your organization to acknowledge the generosity of your donors and supporters.

We also know that you want your donor recognition signage to encourage others to contribute. That’s why we offer custom, beautifully crafted donor recognition signage—the kind that looks elegant, inspires generosity, and truly honors your loyal supporters.

Whether you need signage, wall plagues, murals, or displays, we’ve got the experience to help! We’ve designed, fabricated, and installed recognition solutions for universities, hospitals, foundations, and businesses—and we use cutting edge techniques like computer aided routing, laser cutting, etching, and digital printing. So let’s get started; together we can create a donor recognition solution that perfectly rewards your supporters and fits your budget!

Idea #8: Wayfinding

Wayfinding is one of the best ways to improve visitor experience, build brand awareness, and increase productivity and profitability. We can help you design and implement wayfinding solutions using directional signage and visual elements that are specifically tailored to your locations and facilities.

And that’s just the beginning! Let’s just say that when it comes to wayfinding solutions, banners, and custom signage, we have the ability to design, fabricate, and execute almost any project you can imagine.

Idea #9: Vinyl Graphics

Vinyl graphics can be cut to any shape and can be found in a variety of colors and finishes. Perfect for glass windows, they can be found in opaque, translucent, reflective, metallic and special-effect materials (it can even glow in the dark).

Cut vinyl isn’t limited just to the hours of operatijon on your entrance doors or vehicle lettering, either. Check out the design below and how it transforms the glass partition at the entrance to the Lincoln exhibit; this finely detailed vinyl is contour cut by computer and reverse-applied from a contact sheet. It’s easy to install yourself, or contact us to speak to an installation expert.

Idea #10: Floor Graphics

There are many ways that you can use decal or printable flooring to transform the floors or ceiling of your museum to create a richer experience.

The possibilities are limitless. Imagine a football field for the sports hall of fame, or the rocky surface of the moon at an aerospace exhibit, or dinosaur footprints leading to a prehistoric world.

Shown below, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum created a scavenger hunt and used the decals to highlight various works of art in an Alice in Wonderland themed collection. As you can see the decals looked great in the galleries! (photos courtesy of Liza Voll Photography)

Used in a retail setting, LL Bean was faced with the challenge of bringing the outdoors, indoors. When they opened a new store at King of Prussia Mall outside of Philadelphia, they created a “Follow Me” floor graphic that stretched for hundreds of feet. They even put decals underwater in the fountain at center court, turning it into an enormous fishing pond.

This award-winning exhibit made a big impact during the grand opening and had a long line of shoppers queuing up for the doors to open!

Even More Ideas for Museums

These are just a few of the ways that you can utilize large format print to build buzz for your museum and help you to look your very best.

We would love to hear more about your upcoming exhibits and brainstorm ideas for how to make the experience the best that your patrons could possibly ever remember!