The New Homepage

October 2, 2009

I like a spare, reserved homepage as much as the next person, but some time ago I began to wonder whether the LACMA homepage might not be a little too spare and reserved. People would be looking right at the homepage, on which one of the headlines said, “Unframed: The LACMA Blog,” and they would say, “I can’t find the blog.” So that was a problem.

Picture 1
Picture 1

Before

There also seemed to be a bit of a disconnect between the page’s minimalist demeanor and the countless exuberant ways that museumgoers interact with all kinds of art (and with each other) every day at LACMA. The situation was helped a lot by the Young-Hae Chang Heavy Industries takeover of the homepage, which was very well received,* but then Your Bright Future ended and so did the takeover. By then, however, we were already working on an evolution of the homepage that we’re happy to be introducing today.

Picture 2
Picture 2

After

In the new iteration, designed by Seso Media Group and LACMA graphic designer Jin Son, art images abound, social media steps forward (try the Community Twitter feed) and a mini-calendar provides fast access to the latest concerts, films, and conversations. And a small touch, but one I’m fond of: The persistent question of “Where is LACMA?” should be easier to answer, as you only have to click on the address at the top of every page and a map appears.

Tom Drury

* There were several calls informing us that our site had been hacked, but we took those as positive responses as well.