Overview
As a designer with a deep appreciation for cultural heritage, I created a comprehensive digital experience for the Museum of Folk Design in Lubicz. This project addresses real challenges faced by cultural institutions in the digital space while celebrating the rich tradition of Polish folk art and craftsmanship. The concept emerged from my passion for connecting traditional art forms with modern audiences through intuitive digital experiences.
My work covered the full design process: conducting extensive desk research and market analysis, defining user personas and flows, creating wireframes, developing a cohesive brand identity, designing the user interface, building a high-fidelity prototype, and establishing a complete design system. The result is a thoughtfully crafted digital experience that presents folk design heritage through an intuitive, accessible, and visually engaging platform - tailored to meet the real needs of both modern audiences and cultural institutions.
Barriers in the Digital Space
My research uncovered several key issues common across many museum websites, not just those dedicated to ethnographic collections. These sites typically suffer from information overload, poor content organization, and complicated ticket purchasing processes. Most fail to meet accessibility standards and feature outdated designs with inconsistent visual elements, creating a confusing user experience for visitors and limiting their reach to diverse audiences.
Reimagining the Museum Visit
The Museum of Folk Design website was created to transform the digital museum experience through thoughtful information hierarchy and visual storytelling. The clean, modern interface uses a distinctive blue color palette that references traditional Polish folk art while creating a contemporary digital environment. Navigation is intuitive and purposeful, guiding visitors through exhibitions and simplifying the ticket purchase process to just four clear steps.
Every design decision balances functionality with aesthetic beauty, much like the folk artifacts showcased in the museum itself. The responsive design adapts seamlessly across devices while maintaining consistent branding and user experience. Special attention was paid to accessibility features, ensuring the website welcomes all visitors regardless of ability, just as the physical museum spaces should. The result is a digital platform that doesn't just inform about cultural heritage but actively celebrates and extends it into the digital realm.
Challenges and Lessons Learned
One of the biggest challenges was sourcing high-quality, legally usable folk art content. Maintaining visual and cultural authenticity was a key priority, which required careful selection and limited the use of generic or easily available assets. This experience made me deeply aware of the limitations small cultural institutions face when it comes to digitizing and sharing their collections. It also reinforced the importance of flexible design thinking and finding creative solutions, even when resources are limited.
