CRITERIA WERE DEVELOPED FOR THE DESIGN OF LABELS IN VERBAL-PICTORIAL EDUCATIONAL DISPLAYS. THE INFLUENCE OF SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF LABELS ON EASE OF LEARNING AND DEGREE OF RETENTION WAS INVESTIGATED. THIRTY ANATOMICAL PARTS OF THE HUMAN DIGESTIVE TRACT WERE LABELED ON 10 CHARTS SHOWING THE SAME DIAGRAM OF THE HUMAN BODY, BUT WITH DIFFERENT PATTERNS OR SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF LABELS. THE SAME LECTURE WITH VARIED LABEL PATTERNS WAS PRESENTED TO 309 10TH-GRADE BIOLOGY STUDENTS IN 14 CLASSES. STUDENTS COMPLETED A 5-MINUTE PRETEST, A 5-MINUTE POST-TEST, AND 2 WEEKS LATER, A 5-MINUTE RETENTION TEST. ALL TESTS WERE FACSIMILES, MINUS THE IDENTIFYING LABELS, OF THE PROJECTED TWO-DIMENSIONAL VISUAL AID PATTERN USED IN THE ORIGINAL INSTRUCTION OF THAT PARTICULAR CLASS GROUPING. THE ABILITY LEVEL OF EVERY STUDENT WAS OBTAINED FROM SCHOOL RECORDS. SEVERAL VARIATIONS OF LABEL PATTERNS APPEARED TO HAVE EQUIVALENT INFLUENCE ON ACQUISITION AND RETENTION, THEREBY PROVIDING A BASIS FOR ALTERNATE LAYOUTS BY DESIGNERS OF SUCH EDUCATIONAL DISPLAYS. THE CURRENT RESEARCH FAILED TO DEMONSTRATE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GROUPS VIEWING VARIOUS LABEL PATTERNS. (JK)