A guide to: Exhibition font sizes

Artwork, and artefacts, graphic elements, lighting, spatial flow and text work together towards an exhibition's curatorial intent. Even with the growing trend of audio guides and electronic displays, wall text is still king when it comes to conveying information. An optimal font size improves the readability and legibility of text. While there is no one-size-fits-all, this Field Note suggests some font sizes which may be used for the different texts within an exhibition.

ITEM	FONT SIZE (PT)	FONT HEIGHT (MM)	REMARKS
Exhibition Logo	-	50 – 150	To be adjusted based on surface space available, and intended level of prominence
Main Title	300	75	To be adjusted based on intended level of prominence
Section Title	150	40	Safely, 3x the size of Main Body Text to ensure distinct contrast
Sub-section Title	100	25	To be determined in relation to Section Title
Main Body Text	50	15	A comfortable font size readable by most (given reading distance)
Notes: 1. Assuming the exhibition's lighting condition is maintained at 50 lux, reading distance is most comfortable between 0.5M - 1.5M. 2. For an optimal reading height, the centre of the text should be maintained at 1.5M from the ground.

ITEM	FONT SIZE (PT)	FONT HEIGHT (MM)	REMARKS
Main Header	< 24	< 6	To consider bold styling, if intended to be larger
Sub-header	21	5	To ensure distinct contrast to Main Header
Body Text	16	4	A comfortable font size readable by most (given reading distance)
Lender Line/Accession Number	> 12	> 3	Minimum font size for reading wall text at close proximity
Supplementary Icon(s)	-	18 - 25	To manage size in relation to rest of the text. Typically kept small to prevent distraction.
Notes: 1. Assuming the exhibition's lighting condition is maintained at 50 lux, reading distance is most comfortable between 0.5M - 1.5M. 2. For an optimal reading height, the top of the label should be maintained at 1.5M from the ground.

ITEM	FONT SIZE (PT)	FONT HEIGHT (MM)	REMARKS
Main Header	< 24	< 6	To consider bold styling, if intended to be larger
Sub-header	21	5	To ensure distinct contrast to Main Header
Body Text	16	4	A comfortable font size readable by most (given reading distance)
Lender Line/Accession Number	> 12	> 3	Minimum font size for reading wall text at close proximity
Supplementary Icon(s)	-	18 - 25	To manage size in relation to rest of the text. Typically kept small to prevent distraction.
Notes: 1. Assuming the exhibition's lighting condition is maintained at 50 lux, reading distance is most comfortable between 0.5M - 1.5M. 2. Assuming height of showcase at 0.8M from ground

ITEM	FONT SIZE (PT)	FONT HEIGHT (MM)	REMARKS
Timeline	30 - 40		To be adjusted according to amount of content and space available
Wall Quotes	150 - 300	40 - 75	To be adjusted based on intended level of prominence
Advisory Labels	50 - 100	15 - 25	To be adjusted in relation to accompanying object and space available
Notes: 1. Center of text should be maintained at 1.5M from ground for most optimal reading height 2. Graphics or font sizes to be adjusted, according to wall space available 3. Reading range most optimal between 0.8M - 1.8M from ground.