Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog » redesign

ArtBabble in 2011

Matt — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 22:13:12 +0000

A lot of things have happened since ArtBabble was born (launched) in April of 2009. I can’t believe it has been close to 2 years! There are two main things that have improved drastically since we launched: content and technology. To the future…

You're looking at the future of ArtBabble.

About the content:

We launched in ’09 with 6 content partners- which was no small feat. But now we have 28 partners! This is THE driving force behind the website’s success- fresh material all the time, from around the globe. So, while having so much more content is a great problem to have, it’s a problem that needs to be solved. The videos have been bubbling onto the site at a rapid pace, leading to a confusing navigation and interface experience. You heard it here first, watch out for a new design in 2011! And let’s face it, the user interface could use a graphic refreshment at this point as well. I’m excited to get the new stuff we are working on out there. Stay tuned!!

About the technology.

The biggest thing that has changed in the past year or so is the release and adoption of HTML5 on web browsers, and smart phones. Equally as important was Apple’s choice to not include Flash on the iPhone (a decision I fully support). Problem is, we use Flash to deliver the video currently. This won’t be the case for too much longer! By converting our video player over to HTML5, we will be making the content a lot more accessible for loads of smart phone and iPad users. Currently, there is not way to stream videos onto a smart phone, so this will be a great new transition.

Oh, and then there are some new, top secret educational features we are working on that will dramatically change the way educators and students can consume all of the great content our partners have been so hard at work creating. But more on that later…

Shop & Celebrate!

Noelle Pulliam — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:45:45 +0000

Pulling the IMA magazine together is probably one of the most enjoyable aspects of my job, aside from Monday Web team meetings. And with the winter (November-January) issue, we usher in a new era of the magazine. No longer called Previews, but simply known as the IMA magazine, the cover and pages present the Museum’s new graphic identity. With a new look also comes fresh content and ideas that incorporate the intersection of art, design and nature. In this issue, we went out on a limb and decided to do our first retail holiday photo shoot–presenting items for sale in the Museum’s shops–rather than rely on product photography from the design house or manufacturers.

After a full day of shouting “Watch your eyes!” as the strobes went off, we found the results well worth our efforts. The shoot took place on a Monday in the IMA’s new Design Center (store) for easy access to product. Our challenge was to include items from the Museum Store, Design Center, Greenhouse Shop and the newly opened Nourish Café. Keeping a consistent look and feel between these entities took some extensive product planning, and having holiday products in early September also posed some limits. Luckily, we had Tascha as our pro photo editor, Matt the daring designer, and Tad and Mike, two amazing photographers on the team.

A little humor you won’t spot in the published pages of the magazine — We included a pair of cat salt and pepper shakers in the shoot full of bird decorative items. A porcelain origami crane ornament took the hungry kitties’ place in the final shot. We also all fell in love with the Charles and Ray Eames House Bird available in the Design Center for $210. You might call that funny too…

Look for the “Shop & Celebrate” photo spread in the new issue of the magazine this October, and have your holiday shopping list handy.