The examples I have chosen are similar in that they both display real objects which have been interpreted to create an exhibition. But differ slightly in how these objects are used within the exhibition. Revealing things is using the objects to tell individual stories about their use and context, where as the objects in The Holocaust exhibition are almost incidental, the wider story of the Holocaust is being told through the use of the objects and other media, this takes precedence over the individual objects.

Real | Virtual exhibitions   + Good practice +    - Bad practice -

These tables above show Real | Virtual exhibitions good and bad practice. Carrying out a comparison exercise of real and virtual exhibitions from the point of view of a visitor has been a very useful exercise. The tables I have drawn up have shown striking similarities of these quite different methods of presentation.

There are obvious differences inherent with each type of presentation. Download times and technical functionality being paramount in web pages design. Circulation within a physical exhibition space and use of a wide variety of different physical techniques to relay content with realworld exhibition design. But other desirable requirements are quite similar.

Having clear clues to orientation within an exhibition space is important whether you are in a real or virtual environment, it is just as easy to get lost in the British Museum as it is in their web page. This mapping does not end with the exhibition but is also extended to functional elements to include toilets, central information, eMail, exits, lifts, forms etc. as appropriate.

The importance of good design is common also, here I am referring to the way you use the exhibition as much as the way it looks. A comprehensible layout of the material in an attractive and appropriate way is common to both genres. In both these projects the exhibition designer will have made decisions on the way you move through the space. You may be steered in a certain direction or allowed to jump from one exhibit to another, but this will movement will have been taken into consideration.

A house style is a useful device in both virtual and realworld exhibitions to help you focus on the contents being presented rather than the surroundings. This also helps to establish where you are but for different reasons, it is very easy to hyperlink off to a different site from a web page, in a realworld example where there is more than one exhibition to view [trade show, museum, artists group show]

There should be an achievable purpose to the exhibition, it should not try to present too much, or too little, there need to be a balance of the level of information and other material presented. Some of the most vocal comments about the new Tate Modern display have been in its placing and content of the artwork labels rather than the artworks themselves. This will be different in the wider context of the web where additional information can be hyperlinked, outside a contained exhibition environment, but this information resource can be made available within a realworld exhibition also, if appropriate. Like most Museums, The National Gallery is unable to display its full collection, but has made the resource available online , this is then made available within the Museum. The Holocaust exhibition does have a presence on the Imperial War Museum web site. It comprises 10 pages, but its main purpose is to promote the exhibition as a virtual brochure. It does not call on the exhibition itself or try to create a virtual exhibition. However it does include additional links to historical organizations and as such is providing a service beyond the exhibition it promotes, as a further learning resource, these web references are not available in the printed material [Ticket & Guide book].

It is difficult to generalize about what exhibition design is now that they can be so different, and presented in many different media. An exhibition is different to a gallery is different to a museum is different to a theme park is different to an installation is different to a trade show. My notion of Exhibition design is in the appropriate and successful presentation and interpretation of the material and subject.

What I think is the mark of a successful exhibition is in the success of the visitor experience. A visitor leaving an exhibition having gained something therein, whether it is education, entertainment or admiration of material on display should be considered a success. It helps if the exhibition subject matter itself is popular in order for an exhibition to be popular, or its audience to have a personal investment in the subject [i.e. exhibition to show new road routes though local area] But popularity alone is not the judge of a successful exhibition. Apparently many people who visit the Millennium Dome enjoy their visit, yet it is not a popular enough destination to make it viable.

The future of museum collection and display may lead to objects and artworks available to view and review information online via terminals accessible remotely and within museums. The protocols of necessary museum collection collaboration have been discussed in a paper raised by Dr, Robert Bloomfield at The Natural History Museum. Visitor interaction and feedback available via the Internet will enable museums to plan what to exhibit. If this resource is then pooled nationally and internationally, exhibitions could be dynamically built that span collections and geographic boundaries. But limitless information is will not necessarily improve the exhibition of this material.