Background

Inhotim is not only a contemporary art museum but also a botanical garden of global significance, located in Brumadinho, Brazil. With nearly 2 million visitors annually, the institution sits at the intersection of nature, art, education, and cultural transformation. As one of Brazil’s most iconic destinations, its digital experience needed to reflect the same sense of wonder, accessibility, and grandeur that its physical space offers.

As Head of Digital Experience and Strategy at Filadélfia Comunicação, I led the complete redesign of the Inhotim website and mobile app, aligning digital channels with the museum’s vision of inclusivity, sustainability, and artistic innovation. The project was recognised internationally, winning Website of the Day by CSS Design Awards (CSSDA).

Challenge

Inhotim’s legacy site no longer served its expanding and diverse audience. Information was hard to find, mobile usability was limited, and the digital experience lacked the emotional depth of the physical museum.

Key challenges included:

• Translating physical immersion into digital storytelling – How could we express the scale, beauty, and interactivity of Inhotim online?

• Catering to a diverse audience – Visitors included local families, international tourists, researchers, students, and artists – all with unique needs.

• Improving wayfinding and visitor planning – Visitors needed easy access to ticketing, maps, and schedules on the go.

• Empowering digital accessibility – The new experience had to be inclusive, multilingual, and WCAG-compliant.

• Reflecting the impact of art and nature on community – Inhotim plays a key role in regional development; this story needed space in the digital journey.

Our approach

We crafted an immersive and emotionally resonant digital experience that blended art, landscape, and storytelling. The new platform brought together UX best practices, content strategy, and visual elegance – celebrating both the visitor journey and the institution’s global mission.

Key solutions included:

• A fully responsive website and mobile app designed to support visitors before, during, and after their visit, with interactive maps, artist profiles, and guided itineraries.

• A content-rich storytelling approach, showcasing Inhotim’s collections, exhibitions, and environmental role through video, editorial pieces, and rich media.

• A modular UX system that supported real-time event listings, visitor services, and educational content.

• Built-in accessibility features such as font scaling, alt text, keyboard navigation, and multilingual toggle (Portuguese and English).

• A minimalist yet expressive UI language with intuitive navigation, elegant typography, bold visuals, and immersive transitions – evoking the feeling of being at Inhotim.

Process

The process was deeply collaborative, anchored in research, co-design, and validation with real users:

1. Discovery & Strategy

   • Stakeholder interviews with curators, artists, educators, and operations staff

   • Site visits and journey mapping from the perspective of visitors, including children, older adults, and international tourists

   • Analysis of digital museum trends and accessibility standards

   • Alignment workshops with Inhotim’s board to define vision, success metrics, and editorial tone

2. User Research & Testing

   • Usability testing with past and prospective visitors, conducted both in-person and remotely

   • Card sorting and tree testing to refine navigation and content categorisation

   • Interviews with artists and researchers to understand how digital could reflect deeper narratives

3. Co-Design Workshops

   • Held workshops with local communities, education teams, and visitors from neighbouring towns to ensure regional voices were heard

   • Used paper prototyping and live sketching sessions to include feedback loops early

4. Design & Development

   • Created wireframes and interactive prototypes for testing

   • Designed a scalable design system, with reusable components for content, media galleries, and interactive features

   • Collaborated with the tech team to ensure seamless front-end transitions and a robust CMS backend

   • Developed app-specific features such as GPS-enabled maps, offline content, and live updates on weather, exhibitions, and transportation

5. Quality Assurance & Launch

   • Rigorously tested for WCAG 2.1 AA compliance

   • Trained internal teams on CMS, content governance, and localisation workflows

   • Soft-launched with curated audiences before global release

Results

International Recognition: Awarded Website of the Day by CSSDA, with commendations for UX, UI, and innovation

• Massive Engagement: 46% increase in time spent on site and app in the first 90 days

• Visitor Enablement: 62% increase in mobile access, particularly for museum navigation and ticketing

• Content Impact: Dramatic growth in digital storytelling – with over 100k views on new artist and garden profiles within the first quarter

• Community Connection: Positive feedback from visitors in surrounding towns who felt more “invited” and represented in the experience

• Sustainable Platform: Built with scalability in mind – the system now supports rotating exhibitions, artist takeovers, and seasonal experiences