A Modern Reimagining of an L.A. Science Museum’s Image
Located in historic Exposition Park near downtown Los Angeles, the California Science Center is the West Coast’s largest hands-on science museum and a popular family destination with something for all ages. Their mission is to stimulate curiosity and inspire science learning in everyone by creating memorable experiences — so why should their website be any different?
When California Science Center approached Stauffer to hit the reset button on their website, our first reaction was that we needed to create a user experience that reflects that same lively and inspirational energy that California Science Center evokes when visiting in person.
In order to create a virtual space that felt exciting and fresh, we undertook a comprehensive redesign process from the ground up encompassing discovery, research, design, and development to strategically meet the diverse set of needs for both internal and external audiences.
The Challenge
A Fresh New Look from the Inside Out
Keeping in mind California Science Center’s goals of increasing brand engagement and revenue, we were able to dive in and create something that felt completely contemporary yet openly welcomes users to discover the awe, wonder, and possibilities of science.
Inside the technical parts of the site, we first sought out to make it entirely WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliant to ensure all types of users are able to use the site while simultaneously providing a boost to SEO. The architecture of the site was built with a focus on longevity and adaptability so that less day-to-day maintenance is required and yet, provides easy paths for updates to address ever-changing needs.
Now for sprinkles on top of the well-engineered cake. To elevate California Science Center’s brand engagement, we gave the new site an almost-life-like sleek new look with bright colors, playful toggles, ingenious navigation, and informative visuals to pique user curiosity at every turn.
The Solution
Inspiring Science Learning in Everyone!
The new California Science Center website utilizes a modular approach to page design and functionality. Content editors are able to quickly create new varied and interesting page layouts by stacking reusable component blocks consisting of slideshows, text, image/video grids, forms, and so on.
We leveraged versatile technological solutions to ensure that this site is effortlessly adaptable to any of California Science Center’s evolving needs.
We also ensured that the site fit into their established workflow and ticketing software to create a seamless transition from the old to the new.
The result is an innovative web experience that breathes new life into a hallmark institution of the Los Angeles science learning community. It is safe to say that the California Science Center will be able to broaden its scope of communication online and continue enriching our lives for years to come.