Transforming Smithsonian's museum experience beyond the walls
As part of a multi-year renovation, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum wanted to reimagine its digital experience to better reflect its spirit of innovation and exploration. I led design efforts to create a seamless, story-driven platform that invites visitors, both onsite and online, to deeply engage with the Museum’s vast collection and mission.
As lead designer, I collaborated closely with a UX designer, content strategist, project manager, data & insights strategist, and team of engineers on this engagement.
Getting to the root of the ask
This opportunity presented several questions we wanted to answer:
- How do we deliver stories of innovation and exploration in a compelling and accessible way?
- How do we expand the experience beyond the walls of the Museum, reaching a global audience?
- How do we create a visitor-centric, dynamic platform that not only engages but also invites deeper interaction with its vast collection?
In addition to these challenges, we also had several constraints to work within:
- Immovable Deadline: The launch had to coincide with the reopening of the renovated Museum.
- Scope of Work: Our team, as a technology agency, was responsible solely for the digital experience. While we could provide recommendations for end-to-end experiences, we were not tasked with launching a full multi-channel campaign.
Diving deeper in discovery
Some of the themes we uncovered:
- Fragmented Digital Experience: The existing website and digital tools were outdated, difficult to navigate, and did not align with the Museum’s new brand or vision.
- Limited Engagement: Visitors lacked interactive and dynamic ways to explore exhibits, reducing engagement before, during, and after their visits.
- Inaccessible Content: The wealth of information on aerospace history and innovation was not easily discoverable or tailored to different audience needs.
- Missed Opportunities for Connection: The Museum wanted to create a deeper connection with a broader audience, including educators, students, and space enthusiasts worldwide.
The Museum’s previous digital experience did not fully capture the excitement, innovation, and accessibility of what would become its newly renovated physical spaces. Visitors needed a seamless, immersive way to explore exhibits, engage with content, and plan their visits, whether they were onsite or engaging remotely.
Generating Early Ideas
To create a website as compelling as the Museum itself, we took a deeply collaborative and story-driven approach.
- Collaborative Concepting: I held FigJam workshops with another designer and a content strategist to map out key narratives, visual inspiration, and visitor journeys. We wanted the site to reflect the spirit of discovery, just like the Museum itself—guiding users toward unexpected insights and deep dives into aviation and space history.
- Balancing Air and Space: The Museum tells stories of both flight and the cosmos, so we needed to strike the right balance between the tactile, hands-on feel of aviation and the sleek, futuristic aesthetics of space exploration. This tension informed our design choices, from textures and typescale to how content was structured.
- Building on a Strong Brand Foundation: Starting with the Museum’s new brand guidelines, I explored ways to translate its identity into a dynamic digital experience—considering typography, color, motion, and interactive elements that could evoke both nostalgia and innovation.
- Designing for Digital Exploration: Our UX approach focused on creating an experience that felt as immersive and serendipitous as visiting the Museum in person. Wireframes and user journeys were crafted to encourage free exploration—inviting visitors to follow their curiosity, stumble upon unexpected stories, and get lost in the wonder of discovery.
Establishing the Visual Direction
Translating the Museum’s new brand into a digital experience required more than just applying guidelines—it was about crafting an immersive and engaging visual system that felt native to the web while capturing the spirit of discovery.
- Starting with Brand Foundations: The Museum’s brand guidelines provided a solid starting point, outlining typography, color palettes, and core identity elements. However, brand guidelines are a starting point. They don't tell the whole story when translating to digital, meaning I needed to expand upon them to create a dynamic and flexible system.
- Breaking Free from Digital Constraints: To explore the full potential of the visual direction, we intentionally moved away from screens in the early stages. We experimented with type treatments, color compositions, and layouts in physical and abstract formats, allowing us to push creative boundaries without being limited by digital conventions.
- Merging with Conceptual Frameworks: Our FigJam sessions laid the groundwork for experience strategy, structure, and storytelling. As I refined the visual direction, I ensured it aligned with these foundational concepts, reinforcing the Museum’s core themes of innovation and exploration.
- Defining the Digital Identity: As ideas took shape, a cohesive design system began to emerge. I refined typography, established a flexible color hierarchy, and developed layout principles that balanced clarity with a sense of wonder. The result was a digital experience that felt seamless, engaging, and true to the Museum’s mission.
Launch and beyond
After establishing the visual direction, as ideas and compositions took shape, a cohesive design system began to emerge. I refined typography, established a flexible color hierarchy, and developed layout principles that balanced clarity with a sense of wonder. The result was a digital experience that felt seamless, engaging, and true to the Museum’s mission.
By reimagining how stories of exploration and innovation are told, we created a visitor-centric platform that is both engaging and accessible. This transformation reinforces the Museum’s role as a global leader in research, historical preservation, and educational outreach.
The redesigned digital experience allows the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum to share its collection with the world, extending its impact far beyond its physical space.
Thoughts for the future:
The launch of the new website was a success, but it marks the beginning of a journey, not the end. As the engagement wrapped up, I considered several open-ended questions that point to exciting opportunities for the future:
- How might we extend the digital experience into social media, educational tools, or on-site digital signage to create a more connected journey?
- How might we more deeply connect the on-site and online experiences to enhance engagement before, during, and after a visit?
- How might we integrate AR and VR to create a more immersive, tangible experience for digital visitors?
In reflecting on the website as just one touchpoint in a larger ecosystem, it became clear that the future holds even more potential to grow, connect, and inspire. This project laid a strong foundation, and there's so much more exploration ahead.
