pa humanities

The Pennsylvania Humanities Council approached us because they knew their identity felt outdated, but needed an outside perspective to capture the work that they do. We learned that unlike other humanities councils that focus on the traditional definition of the humanities, this nonprofit focuses on the tools that the humanities can provide — such as storytelling, historical perspectives, personal interpretation, creativity, and deliberative conversations — in order to bring people together and understand one another. We immersed ourselves in the organization’s community-based work around education and civic engagement by speaking to staff, leadership, grantees, board members, partners, funders, and friends.

With a newly-developed brand identity that more accurately reflects their on-the-ground work, PA Humanities was ready for a website evolution. With close collaboration with their internal marketing team and developers at Pixel Parlor, the art director and I worked to reorganize their information architecture, condense content, and weave the visual & verbal platforms into a new digital experience.

Some considerations when creating the foundations of the new site:

• Introduce an overarching narrative of PA Humanities before getting into specific programs.

• Use accessible language when explaining the impact and work of the organization.

• Show users the values, accessibility, and uniqueness of the work PA Humanities accomplishes.

• Provide a space for PA Humanities to share anecdotes and statistics with each program and partnership.

• Better explain how PA Humanities defines the humanities and how this tool can positively shape our state’s future.