Vogelsang Gallery’s Guidelines On How To Design And Art Gallery

Vogelsang Gallery’s Guidelines On How To DesignAnd Art GalleryArt gallery design is a challenge. The way an art gallery is designed not only affectshow visitors and customers perceive it visually and navigate it spatially, it mayeven affect the gallery's level of economic success. For example, if one area of thegallery is poorly lit or situated at the end of a forbidding-looking corridor, the artplaced there will likely not be looked at as often and, thus, will be less likely to sell.Design your art gallery based upon the raw space you have to work with, the kindsof art you intend to display and the character you want the gallery to project.List Desired Features By Vogelsang GalleryMake a list of the specific features you want the art gallery to have and anypertinent building codes that need to be observed. For example, you may want toinclude a lounge area where people can relax and contemplate the art or a behind-the-scenes food-storage area for gallery openings.Make a Preliminary SketchSketch the raw space where your art gallery will be located, noting any peculiararchitectural features like a sloped wall that could make hanging artwork hard todisplay. While you don't necessarily have to make the drawing to exact scale,making it to approximate scale using graphing paper and measurements of thespace will help make the design process more precise. Vogelsang GalleryIncorporate Major Features

Place major features like floating walls, art-storage area, a bathroom (if you willhave to add one to the space), reception area and lounge on the drawing. Play withthe placement of these large features, since their arrangement and your art galleryspace requirements will have a big effect on the way people initially perceive andultimately move through the gallery space.Consider How People Will Flow

Sketch arrows showing the flow you want visitors to the art gallery to take andadjust the placement of major features as necessary. For example, if you place theoffice desk in the middle of the longest wall, you will disrupt the path visitors willnaturally want to take from one end of the long wall to the other.Add Needed Utilities

Flesh out the gallery design drawing with necessary utilities like lighting (animportant consideration for art galleries), a security system, a sound system andclimate control to maintain optimum art-preservation temperature and humiditylevels.Select Your Decor

Select the base decor for the gallery, such as the color of the walls (white istraditional), the color and material of the floor, the light fixtures, the receptiondesk and the gallery name sign. All the little aesthetic decisions that go intodesigning an art gallery together create the overall look it has, so choose carefully.Re-examine a Scale DesignMake a final, to-scale version of the gallery design drawing, with close-ups asnecessary to capture the details of the decor, fixtures and utilities. Check thisdrawing against the list of necessities you made to ensure that you didn't leave outsomething vital, like seating or an art-storage area.Tip  White walls keep viewers focused on the art, not the surroundings.Tip  Ensure that safety regulations, such as those determining how many points of egress the gallery must have and how accessible they must be, are followed closely to ensure visitor safety and avoid regulatory issues.