Supporting Australia’s contemporary art sector
A 40th anniversary website for Artbank
Artbank is part
of the Australian
Government Office
for the Arts
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, leasing and promotion of local artists and their art.
Icon was selected to design and develop a new website to coincide with Artbank’s 40th anniversary.
Time for new
Artbank had an aging and difficult to navigate website. It was also lacking a sophisticated search function and was running on an outdated CMS and hosting facility.
The Office had selected GovCMS as their future managed solution, and Artbank needed a beautifully designed and bespoke solution to lift the site's usability and highlight their collection of over 10,000 works.
An iterative
and tested
approach
Artbank needed a more usable site that also celebrated creativity. Finding this balance took numerous rounds of design, prototyping and gathering user feedback.
With a range of stakeholders it was important to conduct interviews and set up site visits to see how the organisation ran its operations. Understanding their physical business processes helped us streamline the web experience.
Artbank’s collection database is managed via the EMu Collection Management System, so having this maintained and hosted in a more stable manner was a critical component of the new build.
Agile delivery
methodology
The project was run using an agile delivery methodology which included a number of key milestones prescribed by the DTA Digital Service Standard.
These included:
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
Design of a wireframe prototyping
Extensive user testing and fine-tuning of user flows
A new interface and design system that was fresh, friendly and highlighted the collection
Production of a component library and key landing pages
Development of an accessible, responsive front-end theme
GovCMS and custom functionality development
Integration with Emu Collections Management Software
Content import and formatting
User acceptance testing and bug fixes
Deployment and IT support.
A beautiful
website that's
easy to use
The new website supports Artbank’s mission to promote the value of Australian contemporary art to the broader public. Technically sophisticated and beautifully designed, we've made it easy for people to find and lease works; support living artists through the acquisition of their work; promote events; and simplify the way Artbank publishes and manages content.