Back in February we launched a new version of the IMA website.  But by now, I’m sure you are already aware of this.  And because a programmer’s work is never done, after the launch it was on to phase 2. That included improving our online store and integrate it into the rest of the site.

With that, we are pleased to announce the new and improved online Shop Section:

With the launch of the online shop, users (that’s you) will now be able to purchase tickets and memberships right along side any books, cards, or jewelry you may decide to buy.  Whether you’re shopping the IMA Store, the Design Center, or the Greenhouse Shop, you’ll immediately receive a 10% membership discount on items when you are purchasing a membership.  If you already have a membership, you will just need to login to take advantage of the discount.

The shop also received a dramatic visual overhaul, bringing featured products and categories to the front.  And all based on the 960 grid system as previously discussed by Matt. Happy shopping!

Filed under: Technology

There are two types of books in the world—those that writers choose to write for themselves (and with the hope, of course, that someone will publish them) and those that writers are commissioned to write. I was commissioned to write Every Way Possible, the first published history of the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Or rather, to help write it, since it was far too big a job for a single writer to tackle, at least in the time allotted to do it—which was less than two years.

Okay, two years probably seems like plenty of time if you’ve never written an institutional history before. But the truth is, two years is barely enough time if what you’re trying to do is provide a reasonably comprehensive look at 125 years in the life of a major museum, which is what those of us involved in the Every Way Possible project were charged with doing. And by two years, what I mean is that at the end of that time, there would be printed and bound books in hand—which meant, working backwards from that point, we actually had about 16 months (one year + four months, for those of you keeping score at home) in which to research, write and edit a 300-page book (as well as find, identify and write captions for more than 100 photographs). The rest of the time was dedicated to designing the book (no easy task in itself), then getting it printed, bound and delivered. Read the rest of this entry »

Filed under: Local, Musings