Exhibit Label Calculator
Calculate label dimensions, font sizes, word counts, and production costs for museum exhibit labels based on ADA guidelines.
About this calculator
Museum labels have to satisfy two competing constraints at once — enough text to be interpretively useful, and large enough type to be legible from where visitors actually stand — and this calculator ties both to your label type and viewing distance. It starts from an ADA-informed baseline of 24pt titles and 18pt body text at a 3-foot viewing distance, then scales font size linearly with your entered distance (twice the distance means roughly twice the point size). Word count comes from AAM norms per label type: tombstone labels (ID only) average 25 words, standard interpretive labels 75, extended labels 150, and section intros 200 — doubled automatically if you toggle bilingual, since a bilingual label needs the full text twice over. Physical dimensions scale with that same distance factor (and, for height, with the bilingual word-count factor), then feed into a per-square-inch material cost that varies by substrate — paper on foam core is cheapest at $0.02/sq in, anodized aluminum priciest at $0.35/sq in.
Total budget adds that material cost to design labor (10-45 minutes per label depending on type, at $65/hr) and installation labor (a flat 5 minutes per label at $45/hr). It also reports estimated reading time per label using a 250-words-per-minute average adult reading speed, useful for pacing an exhibition's overall visitor flow. These labor rates and material costs are typical mid-size museum figures, not a specific vendor's quote — use the output to scope a budget range, then confirm actual costs with your fabricator and in-house or contract designer.
Inputs
Results
Title font size (pt)
24
Total label budget ($)
$1,391.00
≈ 11 pairs of sneakers
How to Use This Calculator
- Select Label type and Material from the dropdowns, and enter Number of labels.
- Set Viewing distance (ft) and toggle Bilingual labels? on if needed.
- Review Title font size (pt) and Total label budget ($) ($).
- Use Body font size (pt) and Label width (in) to inform your decision.
How the result changes with Viewing distance (ft)
| Viewing distance (ft) | Title font size (pt) | Total label budget ($) |
|---|---|---|
| 1.5 | 12 | $1,301.00 |
| 2.25 | 18 | $1,339.00 |
| 4.5 | 36 | $1,541.00 |
| 7.5 | 60 | $2,021.00 |
What each input means
- Label type
- The label format determines expected word count and dimensions.
- Material
- Label substrate material, which sets the per-square-inch material cost.
- Number of labels
- Total labels to produce for the exhibition.
- Viewing distance (ft)
- Expected viewing distance. Font size scales proportionally (ADA baseline is 3 ft).
- Bilingual labels?
- Bilingual labels double the word count and label height.
What each result means
- Title font size (pt)
- Recommended title font size for the viewing distance.
- Body font size (pt)
- Recommended body text font size.
- Label width (in)
- Calculated label width.
- Label height (in)
- Calculated label height.
- Words per label
- Average word count per label.
- Reading time (sec)
- Average time for a visitor to read one label.
- Total material cost ($)
- Material cost for all labels.
- Design cost ($)
- Graphic design time at $65/hr.
- Installation cost ($)
- Label installation at $45/hr.
- Total label budget ($)
- Combined material, design, and installation cost.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersLabel type = 2, Material = 2, Number of labels = 50, Viewing distance (ft) = 3 = 5 input(s) provided
- Calculate Title font sizeTitle font size24 = 24
- Calculate Total label budgetTotal label budget = designCost + totalMaterialCost + installCost1391 = $1,391
- Calculate Body font sizeBody font size18 = 18
- Calculate Label widthLabel width6 = 6
Engine last updated . Checked against 3 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does viewing distance affect the font size and label dimensions?
The calculator computes a distance ratio (your entered viewing distance divided by the 3-foot ADA baseline) and scales both title and body font size linearly by that ratio — double the viewing distance and font size roughly doubles too. That same ratio also scales label width and height, since a label with larger type needs a physically bigger panel to hold the same word count legibly.
Why does turning on bilingual double the label height but not the width?
The bilingual factor doubles word count (since the full text needs to appear in both languages) and the calculator applies that same doubling to label height only, on the assumption that a bilingual label stacks the second language below the first rather than widening the panel. Width still scales with viewing distance alone, so a bilingual label ends up taller and denser rather than wider.
What's included in the total label budget, and what drives the biggest cost differences?
Total budget adds material cost (label area times a per-square-inch rate that ranges from $0.02 for paper on foam core to $0.35 for anodized aluminum), design labor (10 to 45 minutes per label depending on label type, at $65/hr), and installation labor (a flat 5 minutes per label at $45/hr). Material choice and label count typically move the total the most, since material cost scales with both area and quantity while design time only varies by label type.
Why do extended and section-intro labels have higher word counts but the calculator doesn't just make the font smaller to fit more text?
Font size in this calculator is tied strictly to viewing distance, not to how much text needs to fit — the ADA-informed baseline treats legibility as non-negotiable regardless of label type. Instead, higher word counts for extended and section-intro labels are accommodated by larger physical dimensions (12x16 inches for section intros versus 4x3 for tombstone labels), so the panel grows rather than the type shrinking.
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