We chat to Fabrique's team about the Design Museum website redesign

It’s been eight years since the London Design Museum last redesigned its website, but last week one of the design-world’s most enduring riddles – why does one of the world’s leading design bodies have such an anachronistic web presence? – was resolved. Dutch consultancy Fabrique worked with q42 developers to create a new site with pared-back navigation, new type treatments and a much-needed elevation of big, beautiful imagery to the level it deserves.

The site is also an important staging point as the Design Museum gears up for the move to its new Kensington location in 2016. We spoke to two of Fabrique’s team – strategist Martijn van der Heijden and interaction designer Wouter Middendorf – about the museum’s much-needed new online offering.

The old website was a very odd fit for the Design Museum, was it a case of starting again from scratch on the new one?

Martijn: Yes. The Design Museum had really outgrown the old website. In a practical sense the navigation was too full, you couldn’t place big images or video. But also visually the Design Museum is about contemporary design and the website was visually outdated. And not very outspoken, which indeed was an odd fit for a museum that’s not afraid to make such radical choices like not including many clothes in a Paul Smith exhibition!
 
That’s not to say we did not look at the old website and how people used it, what pages were most visited and what words were searched, but we felt we really had to make a fresh start.

How tricky is it to design a site for an institution like the Design Museum which has to play so many different roles?

Wouter: It’s not tricky to design a site for institutions like the Design Museum as such. We have a lot of experience in the field of high profile museums like Rijksmuseum.nl and VanGoghMuseum.nl. That helps us in these kind of processes. 

Martijn: Also the Design Museum has a very clear DNA. The museum want so make things simple, personal, active and connect in all its roles. What we tried is to bring that attitude into the design. 

What was the overarching principle that tied it all together? 

Hans: The overarching principle is authority. The museum is the place to be when you are interested in contemporary design and architecture. The website should enhance that feeling through the level of detail in which you feel the craftsmanship. Even though we wanted to give the site its own design characteristics, it should give space to the collection of the museum and various other designs, designers, exhibitions, etc. We tried to achieve a good balance between the museum as a design authority with an attitude that showcases the outstanding world of design.

The site feels like it’s very much inspired by apps, was that a key reference point in the design?

Wouter: The ’tablet first’ approach is a leading element, which automatically fuels the association with app design. However the biggest inspiration comes from the showcases of the Design Museum. We have, of course, a huge affinity with design. This means that we want to offer the most inviting platform for all these design cases.

How much did you think about London and the UK’s particular design heritage when designing the site?

Martijn: It was tempting to include all sorts of visual references to British design. But it would not do the museum justice and be misleading to the audience – the Design Museum is an internationally-oriented museum that deserves its own face. Yet because we’ve designed the site to be a stage for the content, if a page is about UK design, it will be all about UK design. And if it’s about German design, the page will breathe German design.

Wouter: Maybe that’s typical Dutch Design?