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Transforming historical legacy with a new website

Client

Rubenshuis

Mockups Laptop 1920x1080 rubenshuis 1 1

Transforming historical legacy with a new website

Mockups Laptop 1920x1080 rubenshuis 1 1
Client

Rubenshuis

Context

Rubenshuis, the historic home and studio of Peter Paul Rubens, is getting ready to reopen its doors (planned for August 2024) with a newly designed visitor experience and a robust digital presence. Facing the dual challenge of maintaining its heritage while enhancing visitor interaction, Rubenshuis partnered with us and our Drupal partner Anvil to develop a website that would mirror the richness of the in-person experience.


Primary objectives of the project

  • Enhancing user experience: Creating a seamless and engaging online platform that reflects the unique visitor's experience - getting to know the man behind the artist.
  • Driving revenue: Establishing a robust ticketing system to sustain Rubenshuis’s operations through online sales.
  • Elevating brand presence: Accurately translating the Rubenshuis brand into its digital footprint to reach a broader audience.
  • Merging two different websites: Combining two websites into one fluent experience - the main Rubenshuis website and Rubenianum.be, the website for research institute for Flemish art of the 16th and 17th centuries.

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Co-creative visitor analysis and clear strategic planning

Through several co-creation sessions, we identified key stakeholders and important goals of the project. Together with the team of Rubenhuis, we mapped out the visitor and other audience needs and how they should be reflected in the online journey. This collaborative approach helped pinpoint essential features and functionalities for the new website.

Our team crafted a comprehensive strategic document and extensive plan of attack that matched the project goals of Rubenshuis’s marketing strategy, facilitating clear communication throughout the project and activating decision-making across departments - leaving room for flexibility along the way.

rubenshuis.be

Discover everything you need to know about Rubenshuis: experience the artwork, discover practical information, buy your tickets and much more.

Rubenshuis 2

rubenshuis.be

Discover everything you need to know about Rubenshuis: experience the artwork, discover practical information, buy your tickets and much more.

Efficient design process

We developed a user-centric website architecture to ensure that visitors could easily navigate the site and access tickets. Once this high-level structure was established, our design team created detailed wireframes to visualise the entire user journey. On top of that, we built a design system that uses the pre-made components of the city of Antwerp and adopted Rubenshuis’s new brand guidelines, ensuring consistency across all digital touchpoints.

As experts in UX and UI design, we enriched the project with best practices in user experience, which facilitated harmonious and efficient decision-making at Rubenshuis. The collaboration helped streamline their internal communication, ensuring the website development process was smooth and coherent. Recognising the need for a unified vision, our strategic guidance was important in fostering a shared direction that all stakeholders could embrace.

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Technology to enhance the online experience

Leveraging headless Drupal CMS, integrated with our partner Anvil, we established a platform that allows for efficient content management. By integrating a user-friendly ticket system, visitors can easily find and buy tickets, making the experience smooth even before visiting the museum.

By using the IIIF viewer technology, website visitors can discover pictures of the artwork in high resolutions. It gives them the option to zoom in on every single detail, enhancing the experience from the get-go.

The result: a digital masterpiece


The Rubenshuis project stands as a testament to the power of blending historical heritage with modern digital strategies. Through our dedicated approach and Rubenshuis’s vision, we have crafted a digital experience that not only revives the legacy of the man and artist Peter Paul Rubens but also sets new standards for cultural engagement in this day and age.

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