Have you ever been called loopy?
Loopiness is the tendency to circle back over and over again in and effort to find a better solution.
An exhibit project might be compared to the creation of a custom couch – someone needs to work their way through an entire series of design questions, such as what kind of foam will hold up best, what size of cushions will meet the needs of the sitter, and what fabric will best repel red punch and potato chips? While this comparison may convey the need to make many different decisions, it misses one really important thing: We already know that we want a couch. Maybe a couch is not the best solution? Do we need a stool? Or perhaps a rocking chair? There’s no point in spending all our time debating wood properties when the solution we need involves using solid steel construction.
With exhibit projects, we need to begin with a willingness to explore possibilities to find the best solution to tell the story. The exhibit development process supports creatively exploring different possibilities while applying structures and systems to keep the work moving forward. When we approach the process as overlapping spaces rather than sequential stages we are better able to allow room to work. This permission to be loopy, throughout the process, allows for messiness, creativity, exploration, solutions.
- It is critical that a project have a well-defined plan. Identify the work to be done, when and by whom so everyone knows what to expect and has their contribution completed in time for the next work to move ahead. Underlying structure and process allows us to make progress and keeps us from duplicating work and spinning wheels.
- Throughout the process, we are creating choices, then making choices so that each subsequent iteration of the plan becomes less broad and more detailed than the previous ones. Small decisions and choices do add up until you may no longer be supporting the intended message. Loopiness is not just moving in circles or wandering aimlessly. Instead, it is giving the team permission to keep checking their work, learn from their progress and ensure that all the pieces still work together to accomplish intended goals.
- Keep asking questions and listen to the answers, or keep digging until you find the answers. Prototype and try things out in different ways as a part of thinking and discussing and drawing and writing. Some really exciting exhibit projects never completely move out of the prototyping stage. Sometimes that is exactly the right thing to do, but that won’t work for every project. If you are looking for an exhibition that is “done”, then loop back and make the hard decisions.
Even a creative process is interested in having the project done right the first time. Loopiness helps us make sure that the couch that we eventually build will look beautiful, encourage visitors to sit and talk with each other and still repel red punch.
