MoMA



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This website acts as a digital portal to the modern art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, housing over 300,000 books and periodicals, as well as featuring over 70,000 artist’s on file. The institution has been identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world! Undergoing extensive physical renovations, the new building has been redesigned by the Japanese architect [|Yoshio Taniguchi], opening in 2004. With a new fresh look to it's physical spaces, MoMA also commissioned New York Cities Pentagram to produce a corresponding contemporary brand identity and website.======

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Already having the most recognizable logotype of any cultural institution in the world before the 2004 renovations (typeset in MoMA Gothic, recreated by Matthew Carter), MoMA implemented a new graphic identity, initially designed by Paula Scher of Pentagram, to correspond with that previous logotype. Hence both logo and identity act as a style guide for their website.======

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Composition : The MoMA index page and all supporting information pages (except the online store) are built following a 3 column grid. These columns are additionally divided vertically into levels that display the same category of content throughout the site. This produces a very organized and logical virtual space for easy navigation, content recognition and task completion.======

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Navigation : The main navigation is a static bar that appears at the bottom of every moma.org page. Each heading opens up into related subheadings for quick navigation, each sections index page also provides a complete list of pages under that section. (shown below)======

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Type and style sheet : MoMA Gothic is used for key headings and main navigation links. The rest of the sites content is set in helvetica, or arial as a second choice. The stylesheet could be found [|here] .======

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Colour pallet : The logotype is usually set in black and the main navigation bar at the bottom of all the pages remains a vibrant orange. Each following section of the site however is colour coded, but does not limit itself to one specific shade, rather the layout features and rotates through several hues and shades of a similar colour for added interest.======

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People : The website targets perspective visitors, those generally interested in modern and contemporary art, and anyone looking to participate with MoMA in a learning environment. Additionally, those who have already experienced the museum are given the resources to return and support the institution through memberships and donations, as well as buy memorabilia in the online store.======

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Although the index navigation quickly divides each users needs into the five main sections, the bottom navigation bar also allows the user to select which "perspective" they require from the website and the bottom information feed begins to rotate through more appropriate features and messages accordingly.======

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The 5 sections : All content regarding MoMA falls under the four main categories found on the site; Visit, Explore, Learn, Support. The fifth navigation drop down links to the 'buying tickets' page or to the sister site for the online store.======


 * Visit: Covers information on tickets, schedules, exhibitions, tips, contact and location information, discounts and anything related to visiting the museum.
 * Explore: Directing users to collections, films, publications, the blog, and museum resources that feature works and artists.
 * Learn: Providing links to academic resources at MoMA, programs, internships, activities and research resources.
 * Support: Allows users to donate, get/renew memberships, participate in special events and benefits, and resources to affiliated groups.

Member Area: The bottom navigation also opens up into the log-in area for members. A toolbar that "allows you to collect and share works on moma.org".



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The websites content is structured into a coherent and logical hierarchy, everything being divided under the five main sections correlating with user needs. All the links are intuitively places under each heading but also allow for accessible cross navigation. Nothing feels out of place and the continuity between pages is never broken.======

[[image:Screen_shot_2010-01-18_at_6.10.08_PM.png]]
When browsing through the site, another great feature is the location reference at the top left corner on every page which allows the user to understand where they are virtually located: under which heading and how deep into the content layers.



Browsing the site and critically analyzing the structure, organization and information management, it became more and more evident that MoMA really thought out their information architecture and logically laid out and layers their content. Without going into specific details, the site operates under a very simple flow diagram, that is never linear or dead-ended due to the top location reference and the static bottom menu.



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Browsing the MoMA website is easy and the information is quite accessible. All the content is placed intuitively, many of the links have visual indicators of what they lead to, and the sections allow for easy cross navigation and back-tracking.======


 * 1) Index page --> Visit --> Calendar
 * 2) Calendar page --> "search by date: feb 2nd, 2010" --> turns out the museum is closed on tuesdays.


 * This information was very easy to find, especially since there are several links directing the user to the calendar page. A good usability feature is that one must only navigated through two pages for the desired information, making accessibility quick and easy.
 * The fact that the museum is closed on tuesdays came as a surprise, even after I've been browsing the site quite a bit for the benchmark. This demonstrates that such an important piece of information should perhaps be better displayed for visitors.


 * 1) index page --> visit --> buy tickets
 * 2) 'buy tickets' page --> selecting the date: feb 3, 2010 --> a chart is displayed: Students are $12.00


 * Once again the information is very intuitive and easy to locate.
 * At first I was expecting to see a price chart right away without the need to read any find text and accessing the site after 4:00 PM when tickets for the day can no longer be bought online, no chart was visually displayed. This threw me off a bit until I selected a different date on the calendar. All the dates I searched have the same prices and there is empty space in the layout, perhaps a 'regular admissions price chart' could have been displayed on the right for the visual user that might not read and understand english instructions.


 * Overall user experience:**

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Visually, my first impression is of interest, grateful for a modern and interesting grid that is simple yet breaks the static top-banner style of websites that everyone else seems to be using. The squares change at a viewable pace and the sections colour coding is evident early on. The only visual composition element that perhaps should have been rethought is the positioning of the main navigation bar, having the menu at the top seems more intuitive to the new user instead of in the lost bottom layout space.======

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As for the information structure and content, everything is easy to find and all the resources are simple to access. The layout works great for the task-specific as well as the casual browser. I particularly like their choice of navigation and section titles: "Visit", "Explore" and "Support". They are basic and simple words yet encompass the content they represent well.======