Hancock Shaker Village Web Site

Situation
In 1996, Hancock Shaker Village was one of the first cultural destinations in Berkshire County to launch a web site. However, little had been done to develop it since that time. Since the 90s, travel planning has become one of the most important and successful uses of the Internet. Hancock Shaker Village is a gem. History, art, architecture and family fun coalesce in one of the most beautiful settings in the Berkshires. It was time to create a web site that did justice to the excellent reality of this living history museum.

Solution
Form follows function in Shaker furniture and crafts. The simple beauty of the Shaker design aesthetic has made their furniture and crafts among the most highly sought after and emulated styles. We sought to follow this aesthetic in the site design, but we made no attempt to create a faux-antique look. Instead, following the practicality of the Shakers, we looked at this web site as a tool. Using the beauty of the Village expressed in generous photos, engaging descriptions, fascinating historical features and an intuitive interface, we created a useful information tool for potential visitors and students of Shakers, while providing a valuable marketing tool for the Village.