Our first project for Lit­er­ary Arts when live in 2005. For our first major redesign of their web­site, we immersed our­selves in con­ver­sa­tions with a con­stel­la­tion of patrons — authors, read­ers, stu­dents, and read­ers — cap­tur­ing their aspi­ra­tions and frus­tra­tions with the website.

As we sift­ed through the tapes­try of their respons­es, a pow­er­ful insight emerged from between the lines: the web­site need­ed to shed its orga­ni­za­tion­al skin and embrace the col­lec­tive pow­er of com­mu­ni­ty. Through infor­ma­tion archi­tec­ture and thought­ful design, the redesigned dig­i­tal expe­ri­ence became a tes­ta­ment to this new con­ver­sa­tion — one where Lit­er­ary Arts does­n’t sim­ply speak to its com­mu­ni­ty but speaks with and through them. 

The data also revealed a com­pelling plot point: 80% of vis­i­tors were search­ing for the lit­er­ary events that have become Port­land’s cul­tur­al touch­stones — Port­land Book Fes­ti­val, Youth Poet­ry Slam, Port­land Arts & Lec­tures — yet find­ing them had become cumbersome.

We craft­ed a solu­tion that trans­formed this expe­ri­ence. The reimag­ined plat­form now invites patrons to dis­cov­er events through the lens of per­son­al inter­est, with indi­vid­ual paths laid out for read­ers, writ­ers, and youth.