Website
Museo del Prado
This is a visual feast, bursting with information, says Jonathan Knott
The new website for Madrid’s Museo del Prado takes an ambitious approach to sharing knowledge of its collection.
The primary focus is visual: the site features thousands of high- definition images of artworks, with options to zoom in and out, download and print. Each artwork has a page containing information on technique, subject matter, bibliography and related links, as well as multimedia content where appropriate.
Navigating the artwork pages is straightforward; they have an impressive level of detail and can be searched easily.
The site suggests a range of itineraries for museum visits, 10 of which are accompanied by Spotify playlists chosen by well- known Spanish radio presenters. Some of these selections aren’t what one might expect: one includes tracks by Daft Punk, the late David Bowie and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
There is also an area on the site, My Prado, where you can create and share your own itineraries, as well as a learning section with restoration reports and technical studies.
On a more practical level, the website includes clear visitor information on exhibitions, opening times and tickets.
The main drawback for UK visitors is language-related. While there is enough English to get you around (as well as some sign language), a lot of the text, audio and video content is only in Spanish. And although there are more than 10,000 artwork pages in Spanish, there are only about 2,000 in English. This is to be expected, but more English content could pay dividends in terms of reaching a global audience. That given, the site still provides an excellent user experience.
Microsite
The Museum of the World
The British Museum has attracted much attention with its new virtual online visits using Google’s Street View. Meanwhile, another joint venture with Google – The Museum of the World microsite – has slipped below the radar.
The site features objects from the museum’s collection, each represented by a dot (colour-coded to signify one of five broad geographical regions) on a timeline from 2,000,000BC to today. Clicking on an image brings up text information and a curator’s audio description. There is also a Google Maps marker, which links to related objects.
The site allows visitors to explore less well-known objects and the relationships between them in a way a physical display could not. Just four clicks take you from Kozo the double-headed dog – a Kongo ritual wood carving – to Arctic snow goggles made from caribou antler.
The interface is fun and user- friendly. It’s easy to shoot back and forth through time, and to filter by region or themes such as “art and design” and “religion and belief ”. It’s an intriguing way to get a feel for the museum’s vast collection beyond its celebrated items and blockbuster shows.
Website
Fifa World Football Museum
A basic site that hints at more to come, says Jonathan Knott
The Fifa World Football Museum opens on 28 February in Zurich, with 3,000 sq metres of exhibition space over three levels. It aims to celebrate the heritage of international football, telling the story of Fifa’s development and the sport’s growth into a global culture. It includes exhibits on every men’s and women’s World Cup.
As it stands, the content on the museum’s website is relatively modest, but alongside key visitor information the site gives a good idea of the breadth of objects that will be found in the venue.
An interesting feature is the blogs highlighting items in the collection. One entry relates to former Italy coach Vittorio Pozzo, who was in charge when the country won two football World Cups and the Olympic gold medal over a four-year period in the 1930s. The Pozzo collection includes 1,000 photos and 400 documents, including notes, match reports and letters.
There are also images of some items with brief descriptions, including a Bhutan national team shirt and a bocio – an object (left) that African Juju witchdoctors have been known to use in an attempt to influence the results of football matches.
The most eye-catching aspect is an interactive storyline. Like the website as a whole, it gives a good flavour of what the museum offers, and has the potential to do a lot more.
Museo del Prado
This is a visual feast, bursting with information, says Jonathan Knott
The new website for Madrid’s Museo del Prado takes an ambitious approach to sharing knowledge of its collection.
The primary focus is visual: the site features thousands of high- definition images of artworks, with options to zoom in and out, download and print. Each artwork has a page containing information on technique, subject matter, bibliography and related links, as well as multimedia content where appropriate.
Navigating the artwork pages is straightforward; they have an impressive level of detail and can be searched easily.
The site suggests a range of itineraries for museum visits, 10 of which are accompanied by Spotify playlists chosen by well- known Spanish radio presenters. Some of these selections aren’t what one might expect: one includes tracks by Daft Punk, the late David Bowie and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
There is also an area on the site, My Prado, where you can create and share your own itineraries, as well as a learning section with restoration reports and technical studies.
On a more practical level, the website includes clear visitor information on exhibitions, opening times and tickets.
The main drawback for UK visitors is language-related. While there is enough English to get you around (as well as some sign language), a lot of the text, audio and video content is only in Spanish. And although there are more than 10,000 artwork pages in Spanish, there are only about 2,000 in English. This is to be expected, but more English content could pay dividends in terms of reaching a global audience. That given, the site still provides an excellent user experience.
Microsite
The Museum of the World
The British Museum has attracted much attention with its new virtual online visits using Google’s Street View. Meanwhile, another joint venture with Google – The Museum of the World microsite – has slipped below the radar.
The site features objects from the museum’s collection, each represented by a dot (colour-coded to signify one of five broad geographical regions) on a timeline from 2,000,000BC to today. Clicking on an image brings up text information and a curator’s audio description. There is also a Google Maps marker, which links to related objects.
The site allows visitors to explore less well-known objects and the relationships between them in a way a physical display could not. Just four clicks take you from Kozo the double-headed dog – a Kongo ritual wood carving – to Arctic snow goggles made from caribou antler.
The interface is fun and user- friendly. It’s easy to shoot back and forth through time, and to filter by region or themes such as “art and design” and “religion and belief ”. It’s an intriguing way to get a feel for the museum’s vast collection beyond its celebrated items and blockbuster shows.
Website
Fifa World Football Museum
A basic site that hints at more to come, says Jonathan Knott
The Fifa World Football Museum opens on 28 February in Zurich, with 3,000 sq metres of exhibition space over three levels. It aims to celebrate the heritage of international football, telling the story of Fifa’s development and the sport’s growth into a global culture. It includes exhibits on every men’s and women’s World Cup.
As it stands, the content on the museum’s website is relatively modest, but alongside key visitor information the site gives a good idea of the breadth of objects that will be found in the venue.
An interesting feature is the blogs highlighting items in the collection. One entry relates to former Italy coach Vittorio Pozzo, who was in charge when the country won two football World Cups and the Olympic gold medal over a four-year period in the 1930s. The Pozzo collection includes 1,000 photos and 400 documents, including notes, match reports and letters.
There are also images of some items with brief descriptions, including a Bhutan national team shirt and a bocio – an object (left) that African Juju witchdoctors have been known to use in an attempt to influence the results of football matches.
The most eye-catching aspect is an interactive storyline. Like the website as a whole, it gives a good flavour of what the museum offers, and has the potential to do a lot more.