National Museum of the American Indian
UX/UI | Web Design & development
Client task
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian tasked our team with designing the Native Knowledge 360° Gold Rush and “First Thanksgiving” educational websites, interactive digital learning experiences that would support educators and students in exploring the California Gold Rush and the “First Thanksgiving” through Indigenous perspectives. The goal was to create visually engaging, accessible, and dynamic educational platforms that aligned with the museum’s Native Knowledge 360° initiative while presenting historically accurate content in a way that was interactive and easy to navigate.
Problem
The primary challenge was translating dense, layered historical and cultural content into a digital experience that would be engaging and understandable for a broad audience, including educators, students, and museum visitors. The project required balancing educational depth with usability while ensuring the experience was intuitive, visually compelling, and respectful of the cultural context. We also needed to organize a significant amount of content into a clear information hierarchy that supported exploration without overwhelming users.
Solution
I designed structured, user-centered digital experiences that used thoughtful information architecture, strong visual storytelling, and intuitive interaction patterns to guide users through the content. We developed clean, accessible interfaces with carefully designed navigation, engaging visuals, and interactive modules that made the educational material approachable and immersive. By focusing on clarity, hierarchy, and storytelling, the final product transformed complex historical narratives into engaging learning tools that successfully supported the museum’s educational mission and created meaningful experiences for its audience.
