The Solo Exhibit Designer's Survival Guide
Let's set the scene: You're the "exhibit team." Not part of the team—you ARE the team. Content research, design concept, fabrication planning, vendor coordination, installation supervision, and probably writing the press release, too. Your business cards should just say "Department of Everything."
Sound familiar? Welcome to the reality of small museums, where "we need a new exhibit" translates to "you need a new exhibit and also figure out how to make it happen with whatever budget is left after we fix the roof leak."
Before you update your LinkedIn status to "seeking opportunities in retail management," take a breath. Some of the most innovative, engaging exhibits I've seen (like the ones pictured in this post) came from solo designers who learned to work smarter instead of just working harder.
Tools and Tips for (Solo) Designers
The Master Project Timeline (Your North Star)
Create a single document that outlines everything: content deadlines, design milestones, fabrication schedules, and installation tasks. Update it regularly. When you're overwhelmed, this document tells you what actually needs attention today versus what just feels urgent.
Pro tip: Work backward from opening day, not forward from today. Identify the absolute drop-dead dates and build your schedule around those.
The "Good Enough" Decision Framework
Not every decision needs to be perfect. Develop categories:
• Mission critical: Affects visitor safety or core learning objectives.
• Important: Significantly impacts visitor experience.
• Nice to have: Makes things better but isn't essential.
Spend 80% of your energy on mission-critical items.
The Vendor Relationship Strategy
You can't do everything yourself, but you can coordinate people who are experts in their fields.
Build relationships with:
• Fabricators who understand museums: They know the durability requirements and budget realities.
• Graphic designers who work fast: They can make your content look professional without endless revisions.
• Installation crews who problem-solve: They'll help you figure out what you didn't think of.
Cheap contractors who cause stress aren't actually cheap.
• The Weekly Reality Check
Every Friday, ask yourself: "What's actually broken versus what just isn't perfect?" Focus your weekend worries on things that could prevent opening or harm visitors. Everything else can wait until Monday.
• The "Close Enough" Celebration
When something is 85% of what you envisioned and is fully functional, celebrate that as a win. Perfect is often the enemy of good enough to open.
• The Emergency Backup Plan
Always have a simple, low-cost fallback option for your most complex elements. If the interactive touchscreen system fails, what's the analog backup that still serves visitors?
When You're Behind Schedule:
1. Identify what can be simplified without losing impact.
2. Move non-essential elements to "Phase 2" (after opening.)
3. Call in favors from your vendor network.
4. Remember: opening with 80% of your vision is better than not opening at all.
When You're Over Budget:
1. Cut features, don't cut quality on what remains.
2. Look for materials substitutions that maintain the visitor experience.
3. Consider phased installation—core exhibit now, enhancements later.
4. Get creative with partnerships and donated services.
When You're Overwhelmed:
1. Go back to your "one paragraph" success definition.
2. Focus on mission-critical items only.
3. Ask for help with specific, defined tasks.
4. Remember why you're doing this work in the first place.
The Long Game
Solo exhibit design is a marathon, not a sprint. Build systems and relationships that make the next project easier. Document what worked and what didn't. Create templates and checklists that reduce decision fatigue.
Most importantly, remember that being the entire team means you get to see your vision through from concept to completion. That's amazing, even when it's exhausting.
You don't have to be perfect at everything. You just have to be good enough at everything to create something meaningful for your visitors.
Paul Orselli writes the posts on ExhibiTricks. Paul likes to combine interesting people, ideas, and materials to make exhibits (and entire museums!) with his company POW! (Paul Orselli Workshop, Inc.) Let's work on a project together!
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