National Gallery of Iceland

Established in 1884, the National Gallery of Iceland has been diligently collecting Icelandic art over the years. Its art collection, spanning over 14,000 works, houses a unique selection of essential works from Icelandic art history.

One of the museum's primary responsibilities is to share its activities and art collection with Icelandic society. To better fulfill this role, the museum enlisted Kolibri's help to create a new digital hub.

The unveiling

National Treasures of Art

The new website of the National Gallery unveils a unique collection of Icelandic art, and everyone is warmly invited. The site provides easy access to information about the museum's premises, which are located in three different areas of Reykjavik. It emphasizes that the operations extend far beyond traditional exhibitions. Website users can explore the art collection, educational initiatives, and research efforts.

Greipur Gíslason, Bergur Ebbi, and E&co were our partners in this project alongside the National Gallery.

No items found.
This image is required!
No items found.
No items found.
Better public access

The National Gallery made a significant advancement in public access to Icelandic visual art with its new website and search engine. They utilized Algolia's search engine solution, which records all of the National Gallery's works as they appear on Sarpur.is, a cultural historical database that the National Gallery is a part of. This integration allows the National Gallery's search engine to combine its own data and photographs with Sarpur's records, greatly enhancing search speed and intelligence.

No items found.
This image is required!
No items found.
No items found.
Photography

During our strategy development and user research, we discovered that guests often struggled to understand the gallery's location and layout, as it spans three separate buildings. The entrance to the main gallery at Fríkirkjuvegur was confusing to some. As a result, we chose to focus on creating a homepage video that guides visitors to the buildings and emphasizes that there are multiple buildings. The characteristics of each building are highlighted in the photographs. The videos were produced in collaboration with Skjáskot, and Svanhildur Kristjánsdóttir took the photographs.

No items found.
This image is required!
No items found.
No items found.
The outcome

The result is a website that brings the National Gallery of Iceland closer to the present and to the public. The entire website and its appearance were simplified by aligning content and making it more consistent. The presentation of basic information was greatly improved, such as opening hours, location of the museum buildings, and activities. Exhibitions and artworks are given higher priority with refined exhibition pages, a powerful search function, and beautiful and functional design.

No items found.
This image is required!
No items found.
No items found.
Impact

Our Shared Treasures

Awards

Icelandic Web Awards 2022
Gold
Public website of the year
FÍT 2023
Gold
Website
Indigo Awards 2023
Gold
Web design

Testimonials

Harpa Þórsdóttir
Director
National Gallery of Iceland

Our new website has completely transformed how the National Gallery of Iceland operates. For this project, we engaged Kolibri in a strategic planning session with our entire staff. We also invited representatives from our key stakeholders. This allowed Kolibri to gain a deep understanding of our core activities and our objectives for the coming years.

Now, our website serves as the museum's digital hub. It provides access to the National Gallery of Iceland's collection, which is the heart of our operations. This access is enhanced by our commitment to service-oriented thinking. Kolibri's talented team offered numerous solutions and developed a bold vision that inspires us to push forward. We're excited about continuing our journey with Kolibri.

Metrics