In this series, we'll walk through how we built several sample exhibitions using the Objects and Order system, starting with this one, which I created: The Dragonfly.
It’s a thematic digital exhibition featuring works depicting dragonflies, drawn from Open Access and Open Content image collections at US museums. I’ll share how this one came together, from start to finish, in 10 steps.
As you read along, you can explore the live Dragonfly exhibition at our demonstration site, the Museum of Objects.
Step 1: Object Selection
First I selected the exhibition objects. I searched Open Access and Open Content image collections for dragonfly imagery and chose a group of 21 works, including prints, jewelry, paintings, and ceramics.
Step 2: Exhibition Blueprint Set Up
Next, I set up the Exhibition Blueprint. A Blueprint contains custom form fields for object information (like Artist and Medium).
Since I began with the Exhibition Template, I started with several fields for tombstone information and label text. Then I rearranged, renamed, and added fields for the project. For example, I added a Period field since this was necessary for a few of the objects. I also added a data entry note to the Date field.
For more on Blueprints, see Art of the Blueprint and, in our Creating an Exhibition guide, see the Set Up an Exhibition Blueprint section.
Step 3: Object Data Import and Entry
After setting up the Exhibition Blueprint, I downloaded the CSV Template. The CSV Template came with column headings corresponding to my Blueprint field labels.
Then I entered data for the objects, and when finished, I uploaded the CSV. This created 21 objects and populated the data.
For more on downloading and uploading CSVs, see CSV Guidelines.
Here’s a look at one of the Dragonfly objects, with information for title, artist, date, and medium.
You can also add single objects and add data object by object.
In either case, CSV upload or individual object creation, you can always make edits and updates.
Step 4: Object Asset Upload and Metadata Entry
Next, I added media files for my objects: images, videos, and audio files.
For each image file, I added captions, alt text, credits, and rights information. Captions and alt text come along with the files and are available in the exhibition.
Step 5: Exhibition Creation
With my Exhibition Blueprint set up, and all the objects added, along with the data and media I wanted to display, it was time to create the exhibition.
After navigating to Exhibitions in the menu, I clicked the plus (+) icon and went through a short setup flow. I gave the exhibition a title: The Dragonfly, and selected an exhibition type. I chose EXH-1, which is minimal, clear, and focused in design. (Exhibition types help you get started with an initial look and feel.)
Then I selected my Exhibition Blueprint, and added four thematic sections. After reviewing, I clicked Create.
Step 6: Structure, Settings, and Header and Footer Set Up
As soon as I created the exhibition, the pages I added were listed in the Structure Tab.
From there, I added two additional pages: Discover and Introductory Essay, and I changed Object List, which I added in the setup process, to Checklist.
I clicked the page icon to signal which items I wanted in the menu (at this point, Discover, Introductory Essay, and Checklist), then I moved the four exhibition sections under Discover to make them sub-pages, which appear as a drop-down list in the menu.
Under Settings, I adjusted the global settings for the exhibition, including Display, Typography, and Colors. I set the color palette for the exhibition, choosing a light blue as the background and a dark green as the primary color.
For the header, I clicked in the exhibition header to bring up the Universal Editor. I centered the title and menu, updated text sizes, applied that same primary green to the title, and added a gradient overlay.
I used the Universal Editor to adjust and style all the exhibition components (these are called Blocks). Options in the Universal Editor change depending on the type of Block. This example shows the Header Block.
Step 7: Object Management
I then navigated to the Object Manager (below the exhibition title in the menu). I could see all the objects associated with the Exhibition Blueprint, along with my four exhibition sections.
Then I just dragged and dropped the objects into their respective sections, in the order I wanted them to appear. Once sorted and saved, objects automatically appear on their designated section page.
By clicking the grid icon, you can also arrange the objects in the preferred order for your exhibition checklist.
Step 8: Object Layout
After returning to the Builder in the menu, I hovered over Object Layout and clicked the ellipsis icon that appears at right, which opened the Universal Editor.
First I changed the background color to a soft spearmint green. Then I added the Object Fields I wanted to display: Artist, Additional Artist, Date, Period, Medium, Credit Line, and Label Text.
The Object Layout serves as the template for every individual object page in the exhibition. You can preview it with actual exhibition objects as you work, and add fields for additional images, audio, or video as needed.
For more information, in our Creating an Exhibition guide, see the Adjust Object Layout section.
Step 9: Text and Image Addition
Next I started working on the home page. The exhibition type (EXH-1) that I selected when I created the exhibition started with a placeholder image above the fold. For this exhibition, however, I decided to delete this Image Block, as well as the placeholder Header Block and Text Block below it.
For this project, I wanted a compelling central image to be the focus, so I added a detail of a jeweled dragonfly, one of the exhibition objects, as the background.
For the Discover page (which links to the four section pages), I pasted in the introductory text, and then added a Container Block below the Text Block. (A Container Block lets you add and arrange multiple Blocks within it.)
Inside the Container Block, I added four Card Blocks, which allow you to add text over a background image and then add a link to a page, object, or URL.
I also added animations to the cards by clicking the star (*) tab in the upper right of the Universal Editor.
For the Checklist page, where all the exhibition objects appear automatically, I selected a new page color, and opted to show 3 works per row.
Then, by clicking the icon with four horizontal lines in the Objects Block, I toggled on the information fields I wanted to display below each image. These can also be dragged into the preferred order.
Step 10: Preview, Publish, and Republish
Throughout the build, I continuously viewed the exhibition in Preview Mode to help me make updates and adjustments along the way.
For the Introductory Essay page, I reviewed the text, checked the notes and captions, and tested the figure animations.
After a final, careful review, I decided it was time to publish.
Once published, I domain-mapped it to a subdomain at our demonstration site, the Museum of Objects. Note the format of the URL below: dragonfly [dot] museumofobjects [dot] com.
Once published, it's simple to make edits and updates. You can tweak text, change a color, and then just republish.
In this example, I can see I have some unpublished changes (see the message in the lower left-hand corner); to incorporate those, I would click Publish Updates. You can also unpublish your exhibition if you need to take it down for any reason.
The Dragonfly is now out in the world, accessible to anyone, on any device. That's what a digital exhibition makes possible. And, it didn’t take a major, months-long project to build it, just a quiet afternoon and a cup of tea.
Ready to start building your own exhibition? Sign up and get started, no credit card required. You can add up to 100 objects and create up to 3 exhibitions for free. Then, when you're ready to publish and share your exhibition, explore our subscription plans.