CASE STUDY: PALM SPRINGS ART MUSEUM DOCENT WEB PORTAL
An Artful Redesign Gives Docents The Information They Need
The Challenge:
Redesign a website for docents of the Palm Springs Art Museum (PSAM) so they can easily find the information they need to enhance their tours of the museum’s artworks.
"It is light years ahead of what we had during my previous docent years of 2011-2020. What an incredible tool!"
– Rob, docent
What is the Palm Springs Art Museum Docent Corps?
The Palm Springs Art Museum (PSAM) Docent Corps was formed in 1965 as a volunteer service organization of the PSAM. The purpose of the Docent Corps is to promote learning and appreciation of the exhibitions through docent-led tours at its multiple venues and program locations including, but not limited to, the Palm Springs Art Museum, The Architecture and Design Center, Frey House II, Aluminaire House, and the Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden.
“It’s a first-class resource & so very easy to use.”
– Rachel, docent
The Background
The Docent Web Portal was created in 2017 as a repository of research, articles, images and original written works by PSAM docents for the purpose of enhancing docent tours of the museum’s venues. The website was created by volunteer docents who had no prior experience creating or developing websites. A rudimentary account system was implemented so users could log in to view content. Over time the website grew to include over one thousand five hundred documents and 20+ menu items. The existing hosting package did not allow for search to be added, and it had limited ways to improve the user interface. The PSAM docent demographic is predominantly 60+ years of age with a wide range of computer literacy—from expert to cyberphobe. Docents who preferred to use only a tablet or a phone had difficulty navigating the website. The docent volunteer website team decided it was time for a redesign.
“What a thrill to use the search function and find all sorts of treats…I searched using dozens of key words and was led to pertinent materials. Such a joy. ”
– Denise, docent
The Solution
The website was moved to a WordPress platform to allow for easy content updates and design changes. The menu items were simplified into four different categories—Docents, Provisionals (docents in training), Museums, Artists—with all existing menu items organized underneath the main menu structure in sub-menus. An index menu was added at the bottom of every page. A search box was added and documents in the database were renamed to enhance search results. A new account structure was implemented so docents can more easily manage their account information. The user interface aligns more closely with the existing PSAM brand identity. The new website implements responsive design so docents on all electronic devices, from desktop to tablet to phone, can easily access the information they need on the go.
The Results
The redesigned website launched in September 2025 and site visits are up versus prior years. Docents are engaging with more content during each visit, they are visiting more often, and they are contributing to the process of adding content to the website as never before.
“Hello, Portal Guy and Gal. I can’t thank both of you enough for all the effort and thought you put into this major project. I know that any IT project is pretty intense, so I can only imagine everything both of you had to be involved with — from design development to review of its content to the upcoming conversion.”
– Patricia, docent