Download Website evaluation moma

Elise Dodeles
MoMA.org Evaluation
1
I was recently offered the opportunity to visit the Museum of Modern Art free of
charge. Unfortunately, I came down with the flu and had to reschedule. I decided to
peruse their website, www.moma.org, to see some of what I had missed. The criteria
I used for evaluation included items gathered from "How to evaluate a web page"
from the Colorado State University Libraries, "Web site evaluation checklist" by Mary
Northrup from the Book Report, September/October 2001, and Web Style Guide,
2nd edition, by Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton and published in 2001 by Yale
University Press.
My own evaluation checklist after reading these sources is the following:
relevancy for those viewing the site. Does the site address the needs of those
who come to it to access information?
site design: this includes consistency of design features as well as
effectiveness, and interest created by typography, layout and color.
content: is the text easily understood, does it avoid rhetoric and does it address
all of its audience?
ease of use: can the site be navigated easily, does it allow for searching on each
page, and does it create a seamless experience to obtain information needed, or
does its' lack of ease make it difficult to obtain needed information?
purpose: why does it exist and does it achieve its' desired goal(s)?
I consulted the Director's statement to clarify the purpose of the Museum's website.
There I found that the Museum's top priority is to educate the public, "to foster
appreciation of our collection and to provide the tools for looking at modern and
contemporary art." http://www.moma.org/about_moma/director/ In practical terms,
the website is most often going to be consulted by people who want to visit the
museum and are looking for specific facts such as hours, directions, price of
admission and places to eat. These would come under ready reference, in the sense
that people want to find answers to these questions without having to click on more
than one or two links. However, at the same time, the site must address the needs of
students, scholars and general researchers who have more complex needs. How
does the site accommodate a range of users' skills and interests?
On its Home page, MoMA makes it clear that its’ main objective is to sell tickets.
This corresponds with the Director's stated goals and since most people are visiting
the site to find out about admission, buying tickets online is a convenience that most
visitors will appreciate. This link to buy tickets is the first one sees beneath the
changing graphics. On the left side of the frame there is a link called "Visiting the
Musem." This contains museum hours and parking suggestions along with links to
detailed directions and restaurants, stores, group programs and special needs
access. There is also a link to PS1 (a subsidiary of the museum) in Long Island City
with all pertinent visiting information. So the large pool of visitors or potential visitors
can have their questions answered quickly.
Concerning students or those who might want to do some quick learning about
Elise Dodeles
MoMA.org Evaluation
2
modern art, the site has wonderful links for kids and teens. The kids' site has a
colorful, interactive multimedia display called "Destination Modern Art."
http://www.moma.org/destination/ By clicking on different links children (and adults)
can hear and see information about various modern and contemporary artworks and
artists. Activities include writing a poem about "Starry Night" by Vincent Van Gogh
and creating self portraits after viewing one by Frida Kahlo. The site for teens is
more sophisticated, including links to the conservation project for Les Demoiselles
d'Avignon, and access to the different departments in MoMa including prints, film
and video, architecture and design, photography, and painting and sculpture.
http://redstudio.moma.org/ After viewing these two sites and various links I was
delightfully surprised at all there was to see and learn without going to the museum.
My only remaining question was how does the museum website address the needs
of scholars?
The combined catalogue of the Library, Museum Archives, and Study Centers,
called DADABASE, is available online. DADABASE includes records for all material
in the Library, including books, periodicals, exhibition and auction catalogues,
pamphlet files, artists' books, special collections materials, and Web sites. Records
for selected material from the Museum Archives and Study Centers are also
included. To aid research, MoMA has compiled a list of Frequently Asked Questions.
These are the art research FAQs:
* How can I learn about an artist?
* How can I learn about a work of art?
* How can I learn about a work in the Museum's collection?
* How can I learn the monetary value of an artwork?
* How can I find periodical articles about art?
* How can I conserve a work of art?
* I want to contact an expert on an artist (or a work of art, an art movement, a
theory about art). What should I do?
* What does "fair use" mean?
Source: (http://www.moma.org/research/library/artresearchfaq.html)
With the ability to conduct detailed research, I did an advanced search on a favorite
artist, Emil Nolde. Of the 13 hits, I could link to a multimedia exhibition of German
Expressionist prints from 2002. The advanced search is user friendly, allowing for
the easy combination of terms through serial buttons. The searcher does not have to
be an expert of Boolean logic to get the answers he needs.
See http://www.moma.org/search/advanced.html
With the FAQs for art research, the library, and dadabase, and links to other
resources including study centers, no questions will remain in the researcher’s mind
except perhaps "How much more information can I obtain from this site?"
Concerning site design and ease of use, I was initially looking for consistency in
layout and design as well as clarity of content. Does the site index give a clear
Elise Dodeles
MoMA.org Evaluation
3
sense of the extent, organization, and context of the site content? (Web Style Guide,
p.69) As would be expected from a website designed for MoMA, the navigation is
flawless and the consistency of design elements is commendable. Each page has
the Museum logo along with searching capabilities. One is never left hanging,
unable to return to a previous page. The site index allows a person to find exactly
what she is looking for, while the links and search, including advanced searching
capabilities, allows the seeker to browse and discover unexpected bits of
knowledge. The exhibitions load quickly as do all of the graphics I accessed. It is
also nice that many of the exhibitions have voice elements as well as visual appeal.
The only shortcoming is a lack of visual excitement in the main pages. I imagine the
museum did this for clarity of expression and didn’t want to extend loading times by
having too many graphics. However, as a museum site, the colors might have been
a bit more vibrant.
Refreshingly, the content is readable, not filled with meaningless art jargon, but
rather, illustrative of the many concepts of modern art. The presentation of an artwork
by a complex artist like Duchamp is handled without unnecessary verbiage: "Bicycle
Wheel is Duchamp's first Readymade, a class of artworks that raised fundamental
questions about artmaking and, in fact, about art's very definition. This example is
actually an "assisted Readymade": a common object (a bicycle wheel) slightly altered,
in this case by being mounted upside-down on another common object (a kitchen
stool). Duchamp was not the first to kidnap everyday stuff for art; the Cubists had
done so in collages, which, however, required aesthetic judgment in the shaping and
placing of materials. The Readymade, on the other hand, implied that the production
of art need be no more than a matter of selection—of choosing a preexisting object."
http://www.moma.org/collection/depts/paint_sculpt/blowups/paint_sculpt_020.html
This type of content addresses the newcomer to modern art as well as the
knowledgeable aesthete.
Concerning relevancy, not only does the site have something for everyone, it also
keeps giving by allowing information gatherers to sign up for e-news on many topics,
including updates on the website, exhibitions, education and film and media.
Overall, I enjoyed this site tremendously, learning a lot on my sojourn, and I don't
feel too badly about postponing my actual visit, as it has allowed me a virtual visit to
the Museum that I will be enjoying into the future.