The Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage preserves and documents Americana and World culture, which includes presenting the Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington each summer, and housing the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, the nonprofit record label of the U.S.
Visual Dialogue had created their previous websites nearly a decade ago and, working in close collaboration with the Smithsonian in-house web team, embarked on a major update of all three sites. In the website redesign process, a lack of effective branding was identified, so a new identity system was also rolled out in conjunction with the sites.
The three new interrelated sites feature best practices of contemporary web design: responsive layouts for large monitors to smartphones, visually engaging scrolling pages, a variety of multimedia content, clear web fonts, and an easier to update modular system.
"At a time when living culture has a profound role to play in fostering mutual understanding, I am especially proud that we are evolving globally with these new digital platforms and collaborating with partners to bring these stories of cultural diversity to light," commented Michael Atwood Mason, Director of the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.
