The NRM commissioned ico to create a completely new website for the museum, with a brief to engage with new and existing audiences in fresh and exciting ways.
The new site, which officially launches in early 2010, is designed to support the Museum’s activities, maximise its revenue streams and bring its messages to a wider audience. ico’s role involved developing a completely fresh look and feel, creating the information architecture, template design and front-end build.
NRM is a destination for all rail enthusiasts, but as a working museum, there is also a wide variety of activities on offer for children and families. This inspired the approach to the IA and interface design – to firmly position the museum as a worldclass visitor experience. A series of dynamic interchangeable modules promote museum features and events, and act as teasers for content located deeper within the site. The use of imagery involving people, as well as of the National Collection, demonstrates the interactive nature of the museum experience.
A further challenge was to create overall visual impact. ico and museum staff took advantage of the museum’s wealth of assets and created a series of colourful graphic photographs to be used as backgrounds. The resulting image-rich interface is a continual emotive reminder of railway life and the beauty of the locomotives.
Accessibility is of paramount importance when building an all-inclusive online experience; the NRM site achieves a high rating in this vital category.
The National Railway Museum tells the story of 300 years of rail history and, with sites in York and Shildon, holds over a million exhibits. It is part of NMSI, the family of museums that includes another ico client, the Science Museum. NRM is currently embarking on the biggest period of change since it opened in 1975 and ico’s work on the museum’s new website will be pivotal in this evolution. www.nrm.org.uk
