The Chautauqua Experience
Chautauqua Institution, settled right along Chautauqua Lake in WNY, is a community of artists, educators, thinkers, faith leaders, and friends dedicated to exploring the best in humanity. A welcoming place for all to enjoy art, conversation, recreation, dining, and more, Chautauqua Institution offers a year-round experience both on-grounds and online.
The Martin Group was fortunate to partner in the website redesign of chq.org that reflects where the brand is headed as a national tourist destination, with many offerings to all kinds of people.
There was a strong need for an elevated user experience that matched the engaging and welcoming experience patrons have when visiting Chautauqua. With this came long-term strategic planning, met by thorough UX testing and analysis. This UX research was used throughout the duration of the project and resulted in a custom-built Experience Planner for patrons to consider their upcoming visit, “favorite” experiences that appeal to them, and save their planned experience by sending it to themselves.
The UX research also informed the clean and simple, yet poised, design. Light features with pops of bold brand color and imagery allow the joy Chautauqua brings to come to life. And with user experience comes accessibility. Accessibility is important to Chautauqua, so the design went through heavy ADA compliance testing and optimization. This was necessary to ensure a smooth interaction with all types of users on the website.
Chautauqua’s patrons especially enjoy attending events related to entertainment, theater, lectures, religion, and much more. The redesigned website includes a seamless, inclusive Events filtering tool that users can explore to see what’s going on at Chautauqua.
Check out more at chq.org.