SmithsonianStore.com


* Visual Design
* Information Architecture
* E-commerce




The Smithsonian Store came to Arena with their e-commerce platform already in place but needed a full-scale visual and architectural redesign. The site lacked visual impact and its organization and presentation of products were convoluted and confusing.

We started with the site's architecture and worked to reorganize and restructure product categories and product flows, streamlined and condensed the 'My Account' area and optimized the check-out process. Once the new structure was in place, we moved to visual design.

Some elements could not be changed such as overall website color scheme, link color, link identifiers and other iconic language, so we designed within those constraints and produced a solution that included better image treatments, a better and much clearer series of layouts and a home page that was much more decisive and effective.

As a followup project, we again worked with the Store to further finesse and enhance the store's impact. Cross-selling of products was introduced into the e-commerce platform, as well as other features, so we designed those features cohesively into the site's layouts. We also modified many of the site's attributes including core colors, navigation and link colors, page titling and gave the check-out process a crisp, designed look.

In-between the redesigns, we designed and built a sweepstakes sitelet (HTML/PHP) for a promotion the Store was launching in conjunction with Smithsonian Journeys. With Florence in mind, we designed the site with deep, rich reds and authentic imagery to help convey the 'flavor' of the city. As for the home page, we recommended that it include the registration form up-front so users could easily enter the contest without an additional click to get to the form.