Long considered one of the nation’s great orchestras, The Cleveland Orchestra is among the world's most-revered symphonic ensembles. Whether performing at their Cleveland home or touring the world, the Orchestra needed a Web site that would serve its audience and present its greatness.

In 2003, IdeaStar designers and developers were engaged by The Cleveland Orchestra to complete a re-design for their site clevelandorchestra.com. Imagining a functional and informative destination for visitors, goals included an interactive events calendar, current news, and program descriptions. The site design also needed to create a ‘feeling’ of separate sites for summer and winter orchestra seasons.

In order to ensure that the site captured the essence of a world-renowned orchestra, IdeaStar created a classic, unique design which incorporates content managed navigation and an interactive events calendar. Behind the scenes, information for the summer and winter sites is pulled from a single database, and distributed appropriately at users’ requests. The information design maintains consistency for users and manageability for site administrators.

Graphically, the site displays quality images and maintains a simple, stylish look. Navigation paths to event information and purchase options are streamlined and a seamless transition between summer and winter season pages supports the Orchestra’s objectives.

IdeaStar’s project teams were vital to the successful launch of clevelandorchestra.com and their work drives the site’s ongoing success. The design successfully captures the quality of one of the world’s greatest ensembles, while providing users clear, consistent navigation features. The site is easy to administer and keep up to date, even for non-technical staff members. Additionally, a ticketing portion of the site allows sales tracking, merchandise additions, and information updates to the homepage New & Noteworthy area.

IdeaStar’s creative and information design efforts were key to the successful launch of clevelandorchestra.com. Marketing Assistant for the Orchestra, Leslie FitzSimmons, notes, “The ticketing side allows us to track sales, add merchandise, and add information to the homepage. I use this system daily, and find it easy to use and easy to navigate. Also, the homepage calendar is very useful for our visitors. Most people who visit our site are looking for concert information, and the interactive calendar puts program information and purchase options at their fingertips.”