Natural History Museum of Utah

Nestled in the scenic foothills above Salt Lake City, the Natural History Museum of Utah holds 163,000 square feet of exhibitions covering billions of years of natural history. In addition to attracting visitors of all ages, NHMU houses collections comprising nearly 2 million objects of global scientific significance and hosts internationally recognized research.

Launched more than 10 years ago when NHMU opened its doors of its new home, the Rio Tinto Center, the museum’s website was due for an update—not to mention a Drupal 7 to Drupal 9 migration. Along with a fresh design and improved navigation, NHMU tasked Aten with replicating the vibe of the museum’s unique architecture and interactive experiences via the redesigned website. On the backend, stakeholders needed a powerful and intuitive authoring experience that would empower internal editors to craft engaging content for years to come.

Strategy for a new site to last

To meet NHMU’s navigation and content-structure demands—and to ensure that the site effectively mirrored the compelling nature of the physical experience—Aten completed a comprehensive content-types audit, devised a thorough content plan, and presented NHMU with a site map showing stakeholders where each type of content would live in the new design.

This strategy work helped NHMU cull its 68 content types down to a more manageable 10 options and led to a three-pronged navigational approach for museum visitors, those interested in collections, and others seeking memberships and volunteer opportunities.

Featuring an intuitive mega menu, the navigation and site structure allowed visitors to effortlessly locate and explore their desired content and helped forge a connection both online and in the physical environment between the facility’s exhibits and collections.

Digital design that reflects the physical space

Aten designers were tasked with not only bringing the site up to modern design standards but also developing a look and feel that would carry the design well into the next decade. They employed a design exploration phase where they secured stakeholder input on proposed themes, colors, typography, etc. to help inform their decisions.

Designers drew inspiration from the colors, shapes, and angles found in the museum architecture and local geography. Compelling images and videos and a full-width website layout drew visitors deeper into the content and offered a more in-depth look at the collections via photo galleries comprising bold, beautiful images and minimal yet informative text. Featuring simple content and CTAs, clean lines, plenty of white space, and high contrast throughout, the design offered a streamlined and forward-thinking aesthetic.