After nine years in the museum design business, I know what will happen when people ask me where I work. Our name draws a blank look, so then I say, “We design and build museum exhibits.” I can see the light bulb turning on in their mind. Telling someone what we do opens a door on an industry few members of the general public know about. That’s how it was with me when I first heard about Taylor Studios at grad school in Ann Arbor. I never thought about how museums created their exhibits, but it was obvious that serious thought had gone into how these artifacts and models were displayed.

Without Visitors, Why Bother?

Every museum wants to connect to the public, wants to get feet through the door. Why have an amazing collection or a fascinating story on display if no one bothers to look or listen? So the exhibit is a conduit to get your information to the public and to make them think and care about what you have shown them. As the museum staff, you know your content the best and whom you want to reach. All you need is the “how.”

We know the “how.” If the exhibit connects your story to the public, we connect you to the exhibit. We start with your story, and your exhibit flows from it. How you want to tell that story molds the look of the exhibit. Some of our best exhibits aimed at kids have been set as storybooks, with huge pages and exhibit areas designated as chapters. Natural and cultural history exhibits are a good fit with chronological storytelling, taking the visitor through changes over the decades or centuries as they pass through. But you don’t have to follow what’s been done before. We can blaze a trail with you to the museum frontier if that’s where your story takes you. Dream of what would make your visitors say “Wow!” and keep coming back. Why not create exhibits that evolve and grow with input from your audience and your community?

Telling Your Story

So, let’s change that first situation. Instead of me talking to a member of the general public, I am talking to you. “What does Taylor Studios do?” you ask. “We tell your story the way you want it told.”