The Architecture Centre
Charity & NFP
We helped turn information overload into clarity and engagement, and gave The Architecture Centre the tools they needed to manage their own site.
Our brief
The Centre needed a new website to promote public engagement and make their complex offer clear, relevant and useful for a variety of audiences.
What we did
With a lot of information to get over to very different audiences, we began with a detailed information architecture exercise, consulting with staff to make sure we developed a structure that would work for them all. It was important we represented all the departments and their audiences equally, without diluting the overall message.
Public engagement is the heart of The Architecture Centre’s work, so we wanted to create functionality that would engage the user groups we had identified – including a bespoke content aggregation system, bookings calendar and user commenting features.
It was essential that each department could maintain its own part of the site. So we integrated a complete, SEO-friendly content management system that allows each department to manage their content without wasting time or relying on one person.
Visually, we took great care to create a contemporary site that can carry a lot of info without looking cluttered. With usability a top priority, we performed an in-depth study of colour and type usage and created a strict set of style guidelines that are hard-coded into the site, meaning the pages are consistent throughout and the design will not degrade over time.
‘Positive were one of four agencies short-listed for our project, and they were selected because of their enthusiasm, energy, experience, knowledge and professional approach.
‘From initial conversations, right the way through the design and build stages, to final delivery, Kate was brilliant at keeping us informed of progress, tackling any issues that came up efficiently and in good time, keeping to the schedule and communicating with us at all stages… It was useful to meet all the team involved in our website, and to be able to contact individuals directly when the need arose.
‘Because the work of the Architecture Centre is design-based, creativity and design was hugely important to our project. Positive made sure they really understood what it was we were looking for, and provided several designs to meet the brief. They were open to our suggestions, and the final design was exactly what we wanted it to be: approachable yet authoritative, stylish and elegant, and made sense of the many areas of our work that required illustrating – no mean feat.
‘The content management system selected by Positive for our project is easy to use and flexible enough to be able to manage the complexities of our information. Positive made sure we were all fully trained in how to use it, and all members of staff are now happily updating their own areas of the website.
‘Overall, we are thrilled to have worked with Positive. The Architecture Centre website is now one of which we are proud, and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Positive.’
Lottie Storey, Programme & Marketing Manager, The Architecture Centre