Crafting a Digital Tribute to Archibald Ammons' Legacy
Introduction
Ammons’ Poetry, an online tribute to the life and work of poet Archibald Randolph Ammons, needed a digital platform to honor the poet’s legacy and share his celebrated works. Hire Web Creators worked behind the scenes with the project team to design and develop a minimalist, elegant website that would bring the poet’s life and his poetry to a wider audience.
Our focus was on crafting a unique user experience that captured the essence of the poet’s work while delivering a clean, engaging web experience. The key was to present his long-form poem “Tape for the Turn of the Year” in a way that blended both visual aesthetics and functional interactivity.
Challenge
- The website needed to faithfully represent Ammons' poem “Tape for the Turn of the Year” in both its original handwritten form and as a digital text.
- The challenge was to present this long-form text in a way that was engaging and easy to read across all devices, maintaining the integrity of the original manuscript.
- The design needed to be visually elegant yet functionally engaging, offering readers a smooth, immersive experience without overwhelming them with excess design elements
Our Approach
We worked as the white-label web development team to deliver a website that combines minimalist design with interactive elements to enhance the reading experience. The design was focused on bold typography, creative asymmetry, and a clean visual hierarchy to highlight the poetic text.
For the poem “Tape for the Turn of the Year,” we split the 52-meter-long manuscript into digital segments, allowing users to read each section interactively. We added a progress tracker and the option to switch between manuscript view, digital text mode, and comparison mode to enhance the reading experience. The typewriter image used on the homepage added a personal touch, connecting readers to Ammons’ actual writing process.
Outcomes
- A fully interactive website offering an immersive reading experience of the poet’s iconic work.
- Enhanced user engagement with multiple reading modes, allowing users to compare the original manuscript and digital text.
- A minimalist, elegant design that captures the essence of the poet's work while maintaining usability.
- Mobile optimization, ensuring the site was fully accessible and visually appealing on any device.
