Item Pages – Prototypes

We have learned a lot about how to improve our item pages and we’ve gathered great examples from around the web as inspiration.  We’re now ready to share some wireframe prototypes.

There are four different wireframe prototypes here. Use the ‘Jump To’ section at the top to look at versions A, B, C, and D.  Preferences? Ideas? Concerns? Questions? Let us know what you think!

In addition to incorporating the feedback and ideas we’ve gathered so far, here are a few additional key things these designs attempt to address:

Bring the objects to life by enabling comments and both encouraging and capturing discourse around them in other places on the web (like Twitter, blogs, Facebook).  We’re looking at different services to help meet this objective.

Add a main navigation bar to help people more easily browse for the kinds of things we know they often look for via searches.

Increase engagement with the site from the item pages by providing enticing leads to related stuff, whether entire collections or individual objects.  We want to see item pages less as destination pages, and more as jumping-off points to the rest of our content.

Let items belong to multiple ‘collections’ though maintain strong context, branding, and contact info for the item’s primary collection.

Help the site better serve an international audience. We’re considering using the Google Translate widget as one approach.  You can see it in action at sites like the Museum of London and Powerhouse Museum.

Incorporate new posts from our blog & Twitter account to keep fresh content on the page and encourage people to connect with us.