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&description=Award-Winning Online Service About the Arts in Maryland
The Berndt Group developed Maryland ArtSource, a large scale, highly ambitious project that resulted in a premier online service for the arts (contemporary and historic) in Maryland. The site features extremely high usability, compatibility, excellence in design, and is powered by an extremely sophisticated XML-based data engine that permits unusually complex searching and information retrieval. For this project, The Berndt Group employed a multi-leveled and complex research strategy. Beginning with extensive, Web based research of "competing" sites nationally and unearthing "best practices," the project was structured to contain three levels of focus group review, beginning with brand development, followed by design and usability, and ending with focus group beta-testing of the finished system. The project was also challenging in that the client, BAROC (Baltimore Art Research and Outreach Consortium), was comprised of library professionals from 8 organizations: the Baltimore Museum of Art, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Institute College of Art, Maryland Historical Society, the Division of Library Development and Services of the Maryland State Department of Education, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the Walters Art Museum - all with a variety of opinions and ideas. We worked with the institutions to provide focus and help formulate a unified agenda and goals for the web site. All in all, the site accomplishes the client's goals for the site: dynamic and eye catching design, clear organization of content, high usability for all audiences, and a web site that serves as both a marketing piece and an information tool. The Berndt Group won two international design awards for this site: a Horizon Interactive Design Award and a Summit Award. |
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