Google SketchUp is a saviour! I use it to draw out the floorplans of galleries, so I can then see the space in 3D and to scale, in order to better plan my image layout, order and numbers when planning an exhibition. It’s a great tool for curating and envisioning an exhibition concept if you can’t get immediate access to the space.

Here are two examples of the way I use it to plan my exhibition layout:

floorplan layout, Gaffa

Room view, Gaffa

First, I insert the floorplan, usually supplied by the gallery or available on their website. I then scale it so that one edge/wall fits a line drawn to that length in Sketchup. This way, I know my scale will be somewhat accurate.

I then draw up the walls along the lines of the floorplan. I build it out until I have the gallery rooms, and include any obstructions, such as windows. Once this is done, I draw up rectangles equivalent to my print size and place them around the walls. I then import small jpegs of my images and place them within the rectangles. This gives me a virtual preview of how my exhibition might look within a given space, how my image order is working together, and how I am for space in terms of number of images, spacing etc.

A very handy tool, and it has saved me time in working out image order at the gallery.