Vancouver Art Gallery: Celebrating Art
- Arts & Culture
Founded in 1931, the Vancouver Art Gallery is one of the most respected and innovative visual arts institutions in Canada and is the largest public art museum in Western Canada. The Gallery has a growing collection of over 13,000 artworks featuring the work of groundbreaking contemporary artists from around the world, strengthening ties between artists and diverse communities throughout the City of Vancouver, the Province of British Columbia and beyond.
The Challenge
Expansive creative vision, limited flexibility
The Vancouver Art Gallery’s website was content rich, but its technical architecture made it difficult to manage. Built as a decoupled app, the team’s ability to edit pages, adjust layouts, or update content easily was heavily limited. With minimal control over formatting, it was hard to keep the site fresh or experiment creatively, especially when promoting exhibitions, events, and new programs.
Client
Service
Sector
Technology
- WordPress
The Solution
Empowered content editing
The priority for our work together was to update the existing website to provide more ease and flexibility with content governance. They engaged our team to migrate the Vancouver Art Gallery’s content from their decoupled app to a unified WordPress platform, giving their team full editing access. With the WordPress Block Editor, the content team can now easily build and update pages with greater control over formatting and layout - removing previous technical barriers and enabling more creative freedom. They also have a more streamlined process with the ability to schedule publishing, reducing manual editorial sessions and improving efficiency.
Refreshed visual identity
The Vancouver Art Gallery needed their website design to match the creativity and impact of the works they showcase. To align with the Gallery’s evolving brand, we refreshed the colour palette and typography—replacing the former red accent with a refined black-and-white foundation and subtle pink highlights that feel modern, playful, and welcoming. Most importantly, we transformed the homepage into a highly visual and engaging space, featuring bold imagery, uncropped artwork, and more human-centered photography to create a sense of connection. With cleaner navigation, improved accessibility, and generous white space, the fresh design feels open and inspiring—reflecting the Gallery’s creative spirit and its role as an inclusive gathering place for the community.
Mega menu, mega impact
The homepage updates introduced more visually compelling content as well as an updated menu that makes the site easier to navigate. Given the site’s vast content, clear language and logical content hierarchy were both important factors in the site’s refresh to deliver a low friction user experience. With a focus on delivering a platform that is informative and engaging for visitors while also catering to the Gallery’s strengths, the updated site includes the ability to promote new events and featured exhibitions. With this refreshed site, a shared passion for art and design is on full display.
