Photo by Wendy Nyx
THE MUSIC CENTER
PROBLEM: A major L.A. cultural installation is "destination unknown"
SOLUTION: An online destination website to tell The Music Center's story as a cultural hub
WHAT I DID: Research + information architecture + content strategy
IN COLLABORATION WITH: Primitive Spark + KBDA
THE MUSIC CENTER: DESTINATION UNKNOWN.
The multi-venue Music Center campus (including Disney Hall) was unfamiliar to arts enthusiasts citywide, even though the location comprises several well-known performance companies.
Even when we asked L.A. natives if they'd ever been to The Music Center we heard
a resounding "Nope, never!" How about Disney Hall? The Chandler Pavilion? The Ahmanson? The Taper? "Of course!" they all said.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN
TO THE MUSIC CENTER?
EVEN WHEN WE ASKED L.A. NATIVES, WE HEARD A RESOUNDING: NOPE!
HOW ABOUT DISNEY HALL? OF COURSE! THEY ALL SAID.
Photo by Russell Mondy
AT THE CENTER IS THE STORY. The Music Center’s existing website offered no clue as to the nature of this downtown L.A. cluster of venues and rich cultural offerings. The site was limping along with stale content and a structure that couldn't accommodate the needs of the visiting public and The Center’s many internal stakeholders. Our mission: Provide an overarching identity and a compelling user experience of The Center as a vibrant destination for the performing arts.
8,160
SEATING CAPACITY ACROSS 4 MUSIC CENTER VENUES
RE-ORCHESTRATE CACOPHONY. The Music Center is a random hodgepodge
of separate, architecturally diverse buildings scattered across several city blocks. Our partner team, KBDA, had already completed initial branding and research. Once onboard, I led an additional series of in-depth interviews with internal stakeholders, and gained a deeper understanding of unmet website needs from diverse departments: everything from Dance to Guest Services to Education.
A DIGITAL SPACE TO UNIFY. This wasn't the only umbrella arts organization looking to establish itself as a centralized hub for the visiting public. We surveyed other leading arts orgs to envision how the digital realm could help reinforce a sense of unity among the different companies and organizations and came up with a navigation schema that gave site visitors a clear perception of "centeredness" at The Center.
1967
INITIAL MUSIC CENTER COMPLEX COMPLETED
Photo by Thomas Hawk
ORGANIZING HARMONY. I created new information architecture, starting with the site navigation model, user flows, and wireframes to showcase The Music Center’s offerings, performance venues, and org structure in a more centralized way. The site was also designed to serve the needs of internal constituencies such as Guest Services, Development, and Education – departments that had been left out of previous site iterations.
DAUNTING DTLA. Our research revealed that when it came to making trips to downtown L.A., audiences were intimidated. I devised a holistic content strategy to acquaint visitors with The Center's experience, including information about downtown transportation, plus nearby parking, dining, and sightseeing options.
Design by KBDA
1969
THE MUSIC CENTER HOSTED THE OSCARS FOR THE FIRST TIME
TESTING IS CENTRAL. I led the usability testing effort to validate the new website IA. We conducted one-on-one usability interviews with an Axure clickable prototype. After integrating the test feedback and finalizing the IA, I continued to
work with KBDA visual designers to ensure the UX stayed true as the UI evolved. I also worked in parallel with The Center team to establish an on-brand, welcoming editorial voice for the site content.
CMS EFFICIENCY PULLS IT ALL TOGETHER. Meanwhile, Primitive Spark's technical team developed comprehensive CMS requirements and evaluated multiple solutions, resulting in the selection of the Episerver CMS. The resulting site was creative and modern, providing an efficient CMS tool to support The Music Center’s mission as a cultural hub for arts patrons, educators, tourists, and donors.
Design by KBDA
PROCESS DOCS
Competitive analysis
Navitorial exploration
TMC Axure - Home
TMC calendar
TMC Axure - Home nav
