Navigating all the gardens have to offer — from the palm of your hand
For years Olbrich has been a great partner of ours. So when the time came to overhaul the website, we had plenty of ideas to inform the design work, plus the backing of the client to see those ideas through to execution.
For years Olbrich has been a great partner of ours. So when the time came to overhaul the website, we had plenty of ideas to inform the design work, plus the backing of the client to see those ideas through to execution.
Popping the hood on olbrich.org revealed that the site was... vintage. At more than 10 years old, it was hard to navigate, not mobile-friendly and honestly did a disservice to just how stunning the gardens are IRL. Important info was buried, the events were hard to find and staff were spending too much time wrestling with the CMS just to update basic information.
The challenge? Designing a site that serves multiple audiences — from families looking for kids’ classes, to hardcore plant lovers, to folks just wanting a pretty place to stroll on a Saturday. Oh, and don’t forget donors, board members, staff and other folks who keep the gardens in bloom. Olbrich is a big, bustling operation.
Process wise, we started by getting to know site users and stakeholders. We rolled up our sleeves and grasped every part of the organization, listening to the pain points, digging into business rules around events and calendars and sifting through a pile of content. One big goal was to make sure the site could grow and evolve without getting messy again, while still being easy for regular people to actually use.
Design-wise, we leaned into the garden’s seasonality—making it simple to swap in fresh photos and keep the site feeling alive year-round.
The result? A mobile-friendly site that finally lives up to how magical the gardens are in real life — and a 21% boost in engagement time to prove it. Not to mention the drastic improvement in CMS usability for the client, who can now quickly update content.
“Thanks everyone for all the hard work, intention, and thoughtfulness you’ve all put into [the website]! The initial reviews are very positive!”
Tom Fullmer
Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator, Olbrich Gardens
Launched in 2023, the new-and-improved olbrich.org is a piece we’re perennially proud of.
