ENGAGEMENT OVERVIEW
An Interactive Digital Exhibit for New York City's History
The New York City Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) is the official keeper of more than 400 years of the city’s history, from handwritten colonial petitions to photographs, maps, and municipal records. The opportunity was to open those archives to the public as something people would actually want to explore, not just a catalog of documents posted online. We designed and built an interactive digital exhibit on WordPress that turns more than 100 historical artifacts into a guided, approachable experience for casual visitors, students, and researchers alike.
The heart of the work was information architecture. We organized themed collections and hundreds of records into clear, intuitive pathways so visitors could move naturally between stories without losing the bigger picture of New York City’s history. Around that structure we built interactive document viewing, multilingual support, accessibility, and performance into a single platform, and gave DORIS a content management system it could run without deep technical expertise. The result is a scalable, accessible foundation for the interactive digital exhibit, ready to grow as DORIS publishes new collections and stories over time.
ENGAGEMENT DETAILS
CLIENT
NYC Department of Records & Information Services
WEBSITE
INDUSTRY
Government
SCOPE
Interactive Digital Exhibit,
WordPress Development,
Website Architecture,
Accessibility,
Performance Optimization,
Content Management
THE OPPORTUNITY
DORIS holds an extraordinary record of New York City, more than 400 years of it, spanning handwritten petitions, photographs, maps, and municipal documents. Collections like these are invaluable, but their value only reaches people when they can be explored. The opportunity was to do more than publish records online. It was to turn them into an interactive digital exhibit that made centuries of archival material approachable and engaging for anyone who arrived, whether a curious visitor, a student, or a researcher deep in the city’s past.
That meant turning more than 100 artifacts spanning four centuries into a single, coherent experience. Each piece needed context and a clear place in the larger story, with intuitive pathways that let visitors move between themes without losing the thread of New York City’s history. The real work was balancing storytelling with structure, so documents, photographs, and interactive media would come together as one experience that stayed simple to explore no matter how deep someone wanted to go.
Because this was a New York City government agency, the opportunity carried expectations beyond the experience itself. Accessibility, performance, and long-term maintainability mattered just as much, and the platform needed to give staff an efficient way to manage and grow the exhibit over time. The lasting opportunity was to build an interactive digital exhibit that could preserve the past while expanding into the future, ready for new collections, artifacts, and stories without being rebuilt each time.
OUR APPROACH
We built the platform around the way people actually explore history: start with curiosity, follow a thread, and go deeper when something catches their attention. Rather than treat the archive as a pile of records to publish, we designed it as a guided, interactive digital exhibit on WordPress, with structure, accessibility, and manageability built in from the start.
Information Architecture
We organized exhibits, themes, artifacts, and supporting content into a clear, intuitive navigation system. Visitors could find their way and discover new material without ever feeling lost.
WordPress Development
Custom WordPress development served as the foundation of the build. It gave the exhibit a flexible, well-structured base that could hold rich archival content and still perform.
Document Viewing
We built interactive document viewing so visitors could examine historical records up close. Centuries-old petitions, maps, and photographs became things to explore, not just images to glance at.
Multilingual Support
We added multilingual support so the exhibit could reach the full range of New York City’s public. Access to the city’s history did not depend on which language a visitor read.
Accessibility & Performance
We built in accessibility enhancements and performance optimization to meet public-sector standards. The exhibit stayed fast and usable for every visitor, on any device.
Content Management
We set up flexible content management so DORIS staff could publish and expand the exhibit themselves. Adding new collections and stories required no deep technical expertise.
THE IMPACT
The finished platform turned centuries of New York City history into something the public can actually explore. More than 100 artifacts spanning 400 years now live in a modern WordPress exhibit built for engagement, accessibility, and growth, open to educators, researchers, students, and anyone curious about the city’s past.
Just as important, it was built to last and to grow. The scalable content architecture lets DORIS publish new exhibits, artifacts, and stories without redeveloping the platform each time. What DORIS has now is a future-ready foundation for its interactive digital exhibit, one that preserves the city’s history while making it more accessible than it has ever been.
400+
Years of History
3
Themed Collections
10+
Languages Supported
100+
Historical Artifacts
