Exhibit sound design for public presentation spaces
M Stocker · Museum Management and Curatorship · 1994
In the design of museum exhibits, much thought is given to what the presentation environment looks like, but it is not often considered what the environment should sound like. Sound is the ‘hidden dimension’ in exhibit design, capable of transporting the visitor into an exhibit’s imaginary environment. In considering sound, we are not just referring to the fidelity of speakers, or the information content of a presentation, rather we are including the integration of sound and noise within the context of an exhibit and its environment. There are three basic considerations in the design of exhibit sound: the content of the produced sound for an exhibit; the presentation hardware, including speakers and control systems; and the acoustical setting or sound environment. All three of these considerations can complement each other, and strengths in one area can fill in for weaknesses in other areas to a certain degree, though the acoustical setting is the only element of the three that can stand alone as a presentation tool. And while most of the sound design effort for an exhibit will go towards the production of audio material and system design, the environment in which the sound is presented is often overlooked. The importance of this observation will be explored later in this article.