The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center
Project Role: CSS/html/JavaScript, Design (lead), Information Architecture, Project Management, Strategy, WordPress Development
I was lucky enough to work on 2 major overhauls of the Freedom Center's website. The first, in 2007, was focused on replacing an expensive and painfully slow content management system with a custom built tool, a savings of over $50k a year.
We also tackled the site's unruly structure (over 700 pages with little structure) while improving the ability for users to find information about visiting the center.
The second major overhaul in 2010 was a complete update of the site's design. We focused on putting the most visited sections (Visit the Center & Genealogy) up front, adding a list of upcoming events to the homepage, and promoting new exhibits with a large rotating banner front and center.
I continued to work closely with the Freedom Center's marketing department to add new content, build microsites for rotating exhibits, make minor tweaks and updates to the site up until late 2012. At that point the Freedom Center and Museum Center merged and the Museum Center's existing technology team took over daily upkeep of the site.
All and all this was one of the most rewarding projects I've had the privilege to work on.
"What an improvement! Tremendous, very easy to navigate, lots of interesting content."
-John Pepper, Freedom Center Board of Directors and Former CEO, P&G
"The more I get acclimated to the new design, the better I like it. It feels clean and airy, like it is breathing."
-Paul Bernish, CCO, Freedom Center
Project Partners: Electronic Art