“brackets as space”: texas state galleries brand and website redesign for gallery visitors
The Texas State Galleries are a representation of the Art & Design program at Texas State University-San Marcos. This project leveraged the existing “brackets as space” identity for the Texas State Galleries as the starting design elements for the website.
design challenge
Leverage the Texas State Galleries logo to demonstrate the function of the galleries while building upon their brand presence. Requirements for the galleries website focused on showcasing the current projects, locating the galleries, knowing the history through archives, and contact galleries director.
design approach & my role
This project started with an analysis of the new brand that had been created for the galleries. The concept for the bracket elements was to symbolize space. so the website needed to emulate this concept on each page. my role was to design collaborate with the galleries director on site content, the site map, visual design and function, as well as creating final brand guidelines for development.
site map
wireframes
Multiple iterations were completed to demonstrate the best design approach for the galleries content. In each iteration the design outcome is simplified with the final solution ending with subtle interactive and playful discoveries for the audience. Interactive indicators, such as arrows and plus and minus symbols, were used to expand and collapse the space within the brackets. This “space” would include information about gallery art work, about and contact the gallery, gallery workers emails, and archives of gallery work from the past
solution
The end result was an interactive website that pushes the limits of what a symbolic definition of space could be on the web through: revealing content in unique ways, minimal design allowing for user discovery of content, and playful interactions with information across all pages. By shifting the brackets as the “space” expands to reveal content an emphasis is put on the experience of being in a virtual version of the gallery.
