Client: Smithsonian Institution Archives
Project: Website Redesign

Inspiration

The Smithsonian Institution Archives plays an integral role in maintaining the Smithsonian’s significant legacy as a repository of information. In redesigning its website, the SIA wanted to share its expert knowledge on the collection, restoration, and preservation of valued objects to a wider audience, including internal SI staff, archive specialists, and the general public.

Narration

By showcasing the wealth of SIA’s archival resources, audiences gained insight into ways to preserve their own personal histories. The redesigned site also fosters an online community featuring a blog and forum, connecting researchers, archivists, historical enthusiasts and SIA staff.

Design

A visually rich interface combined with a streamlined navigation will guide visitors’ access to the SIA’s three distinct but related offerings, and thereby enhance visitors’ use of the SIA’s archival resources, online collections, exhibits, and services.

Interaction

In order to increase public access to its wealth of holdings, a key aspect of the redesign was implementing a Drupal CMS and integrating it with the Smithsonian’s centralized data asset network. The result facilitates visitors’ access to and exploration of finding aids and digitized media, and strengthens an ongoing relationship with audiences when combined with the blog and discussion forums