NB was recently contracted by Shetland Museum & Archives to recreate the experience of visiting a museum exhibition online.
The Between Islands project aims to explore and collectively promote the arts and heritage of the islands of Shetland, Orkney and the Outer Hebridies through collaborative projects. Towards the end of 2020, a series of exhibitions were due to take place in museums across the three island locations. Due to Covid-19 restrictions and logistical issues associated with the pandemic, the exhibitions couldn't go ahead as planned. Therefore, it was decided to move the exhibitions online and showcase the exhibits digitally.
NB was contracted by Shetland Museum & Archives to bring the Shetland part of the exhibition to life online. Compiled by museum curator Ian Tait, the 'Fair Game' exhibition examines three old island customs that are now deemed 'politically incorrect': hunting seabirds and eggs, whaling, and harvesting peat.
The key objective of the web development project was to present the story of the exhibition, with artefacts and photographs, in a visually compelling and interactive way.
"We wanted to create a fully immersive experience, where visitors to the site could guide themselves through the exhibition, just as they would if they were visiting a physical gallery," explained NB project manager, Kylie Wood.
The resulting website is a simple yet visually impactful site that makes the exhibits and photographs the star of the show. The design is complemented with beautiful, vintage-inspired typography and subtle line illustrations, which again help to tell the story of each of these old traditions in an engaging way.
"I’ve loved working on this project," said Ian Tait, the curator of the exhibition. "It didn’t go as planned for any of us because of the virus, but it has most certainly ended up better for that. Being an online show instead of physical, a wider geographical range will see it, and it’ll have a longer-standing legacy. It has shown me the way ahead for future shows.
"I can’t speak highly enough of the creative folk at NB Communication, who are efficient, practical and innovative. Working with them has been a treat too."
Commenting on the finished project, Kylie said: "This was a collaborative project fuelled by imagination and ideas. It was a fantastic project to be involved in and the resulting website shows that there really are few limits to what can be achieved online.
"With the ongoing pandemic making physical museum and gallery visits impossible at the moment, it's heartening that people can still enjoy the experience from the comfort of their homes."
View the Shetland 'Fair Game' exhibition website online, and for more on this collaborative project, see the Between Islands website.
If you're interested in speaking to us about bringing a project or exhibition to life online, please do get in touch.