Communications and marketing

Important things to remember throughout

• When writing texts, whether it's a curatorial text, a wall text, an exhibition guide, or even a script to read out at your opening event, the tone, language, and legibility of your words will impact their accessibility.
  
  
  • We'd advise aiming for a Reading Level of 8 on the Flesch-Kincaid Scale, which is the average reading age of a 13 year old. We spoke more about this in the Presenting Work section of this resource.
    
    
• However well you plan, there might be questions you haven't thought of or situations you couldn't foresee. When people feel comfortable to ask you for help, it will make them more confident that their visit will be accessible for them. Make sure you have an open and easily accessible line of communication between you and your audience. 
  
  
  • You can advertise an email address, a phone number, or a social media account that allows people to get in touch with questions they might have. 
    
    
  • If you are working part-time or your staff capacity is limited, make sure you clearly list working hours and anticipated response times where you can, so people know how long they should wait to hear from you.
    
    
  • The more options for communication you can provide, the better. What works for one person may not be accessible for another. 
    
    
• Transparency is key. There are some things which are out of our control, despite your best efforts to make your exhibition accessible. Where you can foresee barriers to access, however small, communicate these in advance. Don't omit information that might impact someone's visit. This will only lead to disappointment all round.
  
  
  • For example, if you have no choice but to work out of a venue that is not step-free, inform people of this on your exhibition listing. Get specific. How many steps are there on the journey? If there are ramps, what degree of incline can people expect? 
    
    This information affords disabled people agency and choice. When there are holes in your provision of access, the best thing you can do is be honest and transparent about it.
    
    
• Try your best to make your core content and information accessible. Steer away from access that feels tacked on or that makes people feel as though they aren't experiencing the 'main' or intended event. 
  
  
  • Consider using 18pt font for all of your communications, rather than creating separate Large Print guides, for example. 

Best practice in graphic design

If you're designing visuals for your exhibition, there are some key steps to take to make your work accessible:

Fonts:

• We'd always advise people use sans-serif fonts to aid in accessibility. The more complex a font, the harder it is for people to read, whether they identify as disabled or not. 
  
  
• Similarly, you should avoid using italicised, underlined, capitalised or strike-through text. 
  
  
• You shouldn't be using font smaller than 12pt font. Really, we'd suggest you use 14pt font as a minimum. Large print is considered 18pt and above. Consider using 18pt throughout, to avoid the need for 'secondary' or 'adapted' visitor experiences should people have to request large print information.
  
  
• Making a hashtag for your event or exhibition? Make sure to write it (and encourage others as well) in Camel case. Here's an example of a hashtag written without Camel case: #shapeartsexhibition. Because the words run into each other, it is illegible both to viewers and screen reading software.
  
  
  • Here's how it should be written: #ShapeArtsExhibition

Contrast:

• If you're layering colours and text, the contrast between colours should be at least 25%. This is particularly important when the text is includes key information - people need to be able to read it.
  
  
  • You can check the contrast between two colours using the Web Accessibility In Mind online tool. As a useful approach though, if you are worried the contrast is too low, change the colours.
    
    
  • It can be simpler if you opt for single coloured backgrounds and texts, to avoid variations in contrast which may make parts of your text illegible. 
    
    
• Avoid using text over images. This can be hard to read, especially when the image is complex or detailed and the font is overcomplicated. Make things as easy to read as possible.

Printed materials:

• Avoid glossy print finishes, and instead opt for matte. This makes them easier to read.
  
  
• If you have a choice, go for heavier paper weights. This makes it easier to hold and makes double sided material easier to read, because it stops print from one side showing on the other.
  
  
• If you have limited materials and are reusing printed guides, for example, consider matte lamination to protect them and make them easier to clean.
  
  
• Consider producing a braille version of printed material, like exhibition guides. It's important that you advertise this to your visitors, so they know it's there if they want or need it.

This isn't an exhaustive list, but should get you started in the right direction. For a full breakdown and detailed technical advice about accessible communications (both print and digital), check out Unlimited's Accessible Arts Marketing Guide, which is available in large print and audio formats too.

Online content

Alt texts and image descriptions:

• If you're sharing images online, whether to document or to advertise your exhibition, you should always include alt texts and image descriptions. They are similar, but with some important differences.
  
  
  • Alt texts are embedded in html code. Screen readers use alt texts to follow the structure of a webpage as well as to inform users of the purpose of an image. Alt texts are usually shorter for this reason, and are often limited to 100 - 250 characters, depending on the software you are using.
    
    
    • If you are an Arts Marketer, it might also be worth noting that alt texts are used in Search Engine Optimisation. By including them, you are not just improving the accessibility of your content, but also the visibility of it on search engines.
      
      
    • We would recommend keeping alt texts to 280 characters max, or the length of a Tweet.
      
      
  • Image descriptions on the other hand are often longer and more descriptive because they have the sole purpose of telling people about the visual content and are less often limited by character or word count. They are closer to an audio description than alt texts are.
    
    
    • Image descriptions should be included in captions or body text, so everyone can read them. They are useful for visually impaired and blind people, but also popular more widely because they often tell people more about an image than looking at it would alone.
      
      
  • We'd recommend writing both alt texts and image descriptions to cover all bases. For example, if you're posting about your exhibition on Instagram, use Instagram's own alt text feature to write your alt text, then include a longer image description in the caption or in your comments.
    
    
  • There are more and more auto-generated alt text writers available. As a general rule of thumb, we'd advise against relying on these, though they may be useful as a starting point. 
    
    
• For more information about the difference between alt texts and image descriptions, visit the Perkins School for the Blind resource.

Captions:

• Any time you share videos with sound online, you should always use captions. This not only makes your content more accessible, but increases engagement across the board. 
  
  
  • You should caption both spoken language and the soundtrack of the video, which includes things like music, ambient noise, and sound effects. 
    
    
  • How you go about this depends on the software or app that you're using to edit and post your video. Most social media platforms nowadays have an auto-generate function for captions. These are useful, but you should always check automated captions for accuracy. 
    
    
  • We've found the best software for adding captions to social media content is CapCut, which has the most accurate automated caption writing and timing function.
    
    
  • If you're sharing longer form content, like sharing moving image artworks from your exhibition online, captions will take longer. We recommend uploading a transcript along with your video to YouTube, which has a good in-built caption timing function. It can use your transcript to make accurate and well-timed captions. You should still check for errors though!
    
    
  • The same rules apply for captions as with the best practice in graphic design and fonts - make sure they're legible. A black bar behind the text often solves any contrast problems you might encounter. 
    
    
  • Find out more about best practice when it comes to captions and subtitles from our friends at Stagetext.

Other formats:

• In addition to captioning, there are several options you can provide your digital audience to ensure greater accessibility. For example, you might have an exhibition website with the curatorial text or information about the show. Consider recording and sharing an audio version of this information. You could also share your artwork audio descriptions online alongside any images you post.
• Similarly, you can upload BSL videos discussing the core content of your show, and you can post these on social media or on the exhibition website. Making this content public online reassures your audience that there will be access provision should they wish to visit your exhibition in person. 

Information is key

If you have an exhibition website, a listing, or something like an Eventbrite page, try to include as much information about access as possible. 

This may require you to think about the order in which information is presented, and how you can break it down into readable and manageable sections. 

• Don't be afraid to share information about what access you don't have, for example the venue may not have an accessible toilet. People need to know this in advance. However, you can suggest alternatives - does the nearest station have an accessible toilet you can direct people to? Does a nearby shop or venue?
  
  
• 62% of respondents to Euan's Guide's annual survey said that they will avoid going to a venue if it has not shared its disabled access information, because they presume it is inaccessible.
   
• Think about whether anything is likely to change throughout the course of the exhibition. Are there building works planned? Is there a large event happening locally that could impact travel? Providing this kind of information to people can be really helpful.

Venue information

If you've read The Venue portion of this resource, you'll be familiar with the importance of choosing accessible venues where possible, as well as how things like local transport and travel options factor into this decision. 

Now you've got your venue, part of what you want to communicate to your visitors is where you are and how to get there. This information might be housed on your website or exhibition listing. 

What should you consider?

• How can people get to your exhibition?
  
  
  • What are the nearest transport links, like train stations, bus stops, or car parks?
    
    
    • Try to include this in your listing, for example:
      
      "You can find us at The Venue. The nearest train station is London Kings Cross, which is accessible across many National Rail routes as well as the Victoria, Piccadilly, Northern, Circle, and Hammersmith & City London Underground lines."
      
      
  • In addition to information about the accessibility of your venue, think about the accessibility of these transport routes.
    
    
    • Are they step free? If not, can you offer alternative routes? For example: 
      
      "London Kings Cross has step-free access to all platforms across all National Rail and London Underground lines. We recommend checking the Transport for London website in advance to ensure lifts are working before travelling."
      
      
  • Beyond physical access, is there guidance you can offer about quieter times to travel? Particularly if you know that there is going to be a large event or disruption during the exhibition run.
    
    
    • Many transport providers will offer this information online, for example:
      
      "London Kings Cross is quietest between 11am and 3pm. You can find out more about the quietest times to travel on the Transport for London website."
      
      
  • If people are driving, let them know where the nearest disabled parking bays are, how many, and whether you foresee any problems with access to them during your exhibition, like roadworks.
    
    
  • If your venue is difficult to find - perhaps it's nestled within a University Campus - there are a few things you can do to make this easier for all of your visitors.
    
    
    • Consider producing a picture or video walkthrough from the nearest transport hub to your venue. You could do this in person, and film it on your phone, or you could use Google Maps Street View.
      
      
      • Here's a Visual Guide we made for a venue we worked in in 2024. 
        
        
      • Remember to make your visual guide accessible. If it's a video, provide captions describing the journey. If you're using images, try to include image descriptions to help orientate people.
        
        
      • You might consider making an audio only guide, describing the journey to your venue and any landmarks along the way that are tactile.
        
        
    • You can provide additional location information, such as What3Words to help people find your exhibition.
      
      
• What can people expect in your venue?
  
  
  • Once they know where you are and how to get there, you should provide information about what access people can expect within the venue itself.
    
    
  • We covered a lot of this in The Venue part of this resource, but here's some advice about the sorts of things you should signpost in your communications:
    
    
    • Is the venue step-free? If there are ramps, are they permanent or do they require a staff member to operate them? If there are steps, how many are there and where in the venue are they located?
      
      
    • Is the door into the venue particularly heavy? Is it a fire door? Would a staff member need to be on hand to help open it? If it's likely that it could present a barrier to access, let people know.
    • What accessible facilities are available? Are there accessible toilets in the venue? If not, where are the nearest ones? Where's the nearest Changing Places toilet?
      
      
    • Are assistance dogs welcome? Will you provide a water bowl for them to hydrate?
      
      
    • Advertise the access you've worked hard on. Are there MP3 players and headsets offering audio description? Have you planned a BSL or touch tour of the exhibition? Let people know in your listing!
      
      
    • Are there quiet times to visit? If there are events, are they relaxed? Do you have a designated quiet space within the venue? At what times is it accessible?
      
      
    • If you're ticketing events, do PAs, carers, and support workers need to buy or reserve a separate ticket? Can you offer them free tickets?