Making art accessible for all

with the ArQuives, Canada’s 2SLGBTQIA+ archives

What we did

  • Website
  • Accessibility
  • Digital media
VISIT THEIR WEBSITE

What they needed

The ArQuives is the largest 2SLGBTQIA+ archive in the world. They collect a stunning spectrum of art, objects, newspapers, and research materials, all of which help celebrate and preserve diverse viewpoints and stories. Now, they wanted to make their collection more available for everyone to enjoy. That meant reimagining their website to be both visually engaging and easy to navigate between their events, exhibitions, and store.

An iMac mockup of the ArQuives website. The image features the landing page of the website, with the menu bar, current news about the ArQuives, support buttons, and options to View the Collection or View the Exhibits all visible.
An iPhone mockup of the ArQuives website menu. The menu separators are each in a different colour, and some of the sections include "Our ArQuives, Programming, Our Store, and Volunteer" among others on a solid black background.
An iPhone mockup of the ArQuives website. The site features the Our Store section, and has a button to become a member.
An image of the ArQuives logo with a large magnifying glass over the Q, U, I, and V. The ArQuives logo features a bright pink Q and an E made of 4 horizontal lines. The logo is on a solid black background.

How we helped

We brought their vision to life, with a colourful, dynamic website and newsletter that showcase their artifacts and events. Their new site is now fully accessible and responsive, which helps welcome visitors of all sorts—and makes their work more accessible for all.

A macbook mockup of the ArQuives website. The site features information about the current volunteer positions at the ArQuives.
An icon of a hand with a small white heart in the centre of the palm, in white outlines.
An icon of a heart with a coin in the bottom right section, all in white.
An icon of an image behind a rope divider. The image is a "default" style image featuring mountains and a sun. In front of the image is a rope divider on two poles, all in white.
An icon of a calendar. The icon is a simple outline illustration of a calendar with three featured dates, and a large checkmark on the right side of the page.
An icon of a book. The icon is a simple outline illustration of an open book in white.
An i-pad mockup of the ArQuives website. The site features the Our ArQuives section, and has blurbs about reference material, our digital exhibitions, and our past exhibitions.
An i-phone mockup of the ArQuives website. The site features the programming section and reads "At the ArQuives, we believe in the importance of acting as an educational resource to the community. The page goes on to feature information about the Qaliedoscope Gala.
A bright pink star with a rainbow shape from the right to bottom point. The rainbow shape has progressively lighter shades of pink within it.
An icon of a calendar in teal and light blue with a large white checkmark in the centre. There is a rainbow shaped detail in the bottom right.
An icon of a picture frame with an illustrated "photo" of two people. Surrounding the picture frame is an arrow going counter clockwise in blue.
A macbook mockup of the ArQuives website. The page reads "Gifts of stocks and securities" and proceeds to explain the benefits of giving such a gift. This page is in the donate section of the website.
An i-pad mockup of the ArQuives landing page. The ArQuives logo is a word mark with a bright pink Q and an E composed of 4 horizontal lines. The text below in pink reads "Canada's LGBTQ2+ Archives". The logo is on a black background with pink lines in groups of 5 running similar to paths along the background.
An i-phone mockup of the ArQuives website. The top section of the site features an ArQuives banner image featuring the logo, with a white section below that that reads "Newsletter | CommuniQue - Sept 2020, Vol 2, Issue 8" below that section reads "Intergenerational Artist Residency Retrospective" with a blurb about the event below that.

“As a queer partner at our firm and with several staff being a part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, it was important for us to create a beautiful, accessible and functional website for the ArQuives and the amazing work that they do in preserving and publicly sharing queer and trans culture. We were honoured to work with the ArQuives and to help support one of the worlds largest LGBTQ2+ archives.“

 

-Mélissa Deschênes, Design de Plume

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