I can only imagine that making design choices for a 21st century website cataloging the works of a 16th century writer must have been a challenge. Is it possible to have a classically themed website that isn’t tacky? Then again there is also a chance that the demographic of people who have any kind of interest in William Shakespeare appreciate the tacky. Maybe thats why is seems the majority of these archive websites are archaic and without taste. All that to say I was pleasantly surprised when I visited the Royal Shakespeare Company’s website, as it reminded me that I do in fact live in 2019.
The visual differences between the RSC site and the other sites are distinct. Brighter colors, high definition pictures, welcoming design scheme, easy navigation. This site was designed with an audience of people in mind of whom value efficiency and clarity. The main page isn’t cluttered with swaths of unnecessary information, but rather it is a cleanly organized entry way into a number of portals that hold specific information someone would perhaps be looking for. This site caters to people who know what they are looking for, as well as to people who are looking to explore, and that is a significant improvement as I often found myself getting lost on the other sites. The primary reason that I like this site as much as I do is the purpose of it’s design choices seem to be in the interests of providing quality information as quickly as possible. Most often when I follow an “about Shakespeare” link on one of these sites, I end up on a page that is not any more useful than Shakespeare’s Wikipedia article. However the RSC’s website directs me to a page that provides further specification regarding exactly what it is I seek to learn. So regardless of whether I want to read about his life, the history of his plays, his language, etc, I don’t have to comb through irrelevant information in order to find what I’m looking for. For the purposes of our archive, I think it would be valuable to use the RSC website as a model. It doesn’t only contribute the “high-society” image that is typically associated with Shakespeare, but rather it provides an efficient and pleasing 21st century online experience that ultimately will speak to a far larger demographic of people. Link to the site: https://www.rsc.org.uk/
1 Comment
Anthony Sandoval
9/17/2019 08:56:32 am
I agree with you that this website has been set up effectively. I also found that many of the other archives had an outdated look. This one, on the other hand, manages to look modern while at the same time not looking snobby or “high-society” as you said. It is effective in presenting information and I definitely think we should borrow some of the design elements of this website for our own archive.
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