Designed by Pentagram

Amazing use of a pure grid layout system on the most recent redesign of Cleveland Museum of Art’s website.
Lisa Strausfeld and Takaaki Okada (in collaboration with Michael Bierut) designed an engaging virtual gallery where art takes the spotlight.

“Each object in the museum’s collection appears as a ‘card’ in the site’s relentless grid.”

The grid is rigid but flexible accommodating different sections with variable frame sizes and columns. The very subtle color scheme (dark grey, light blue and white) together with a sublime sense of typographic hierarchy offer a very pleasant contrast that reinforces the focus on the content.
I also love the fresh use of the identity designed by LaPlaca Cohen.

“At its most fundamental, the site functions as a catalogue of the museum’s collection of over 40,000 objects. Pieces from the collection are integrated in all sections and pages of the site, but they are the focus of the Collection section. Here users can create tags for objects, leave comments and share items with their friends via social media. Visitors can become familiar with the collections, view profiles of the curators (surprisingly few museum sites do this), check on recent acquisitions, and view “New Perspectives,” a series of videos on individual works in the museum collection.”

I’m also happy to see the social integration of the website. Twitter, Facebook, a blog, the ability to comment and engage. Great.

David Mendes
Ideas on Design

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Cleveland Museum of Art | Website
Pentagram

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