Artbank is part of the Australian Government Office for the Arts, in the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications. For 40 years Artbank has supported Australia’s contemporary art sector through the acquisition of their work and to promote the value of Australian contemporary art to the broader public.
Funds generated through the leasing of art are reinvested into meeting the operating costs of Artbank, including the acquisition of numerous works of contemporary Australian art each year.
In late 2019 Icon was appointed by the Department to undertake redevelopment of the Artbank website which was launched in June 2020.
Built on the GovCMS SaaS platform, the new website needed an entirely new approach – one that showcased Artbank’s national collection, was easy to navigate and clearly outlined the process to lease art.
The project was delivered using a fully agile approach. It also included a number of key milestones and methodologies prescribed by the DTA Digital Service Standard.
They included:
Extensive stakeholder consultation and on-site visits to view the collection and talk through acquisition and leasing processes
Deep user research and needs analysis, including feedback on information architecture and prototype designs
Wireframe prototyping and user testing
A new user interface and design system that was fresh, friendly and didn’t override displayed artwork
Production of a component library and key landing pages
Development of a responsive front-end theme that met accessibility requirements
GovCMS and custom functionality development
Integration with Emu Collections Management Software
Content import and formatting
Final user acceptance testing
Deployment and IT support
The final outcome is a project we’re incredibly proud of. With the Australian arts sector suffering under the COVID-19 pandemic, we celebrate Artbank’s ongoing commitment to support local artists and make art more accessible for the public and business community.
Take a look at their new website. You might even find a work that would be perfect for your home or office.
