Case study · Web design and development

Visita LCO

For the 50th anniversary of first light at Las Campanas Observatory, I designed and built a virtual tour that recreates a night of observation. The site opens up areas that are normally closed to the public. In two years it reached 1,900 users in 52 countries, and one in four completed the tour.

Year
2021
Role
Lead web designer and developer
Focus
Web design and development, information architecture, 360° photography
Visita LCO open on two laptops, showing the Magellan telescopes at night.

The problem

An observatory works at night, and most of its facilities can't be visited. For the anniversary, the goal was for anyone, from any country, to experience a night of observation and learn what happens inside.

I helped define the project, its scope and its goals. Then I took on the full design and development, and shot the photos and 360° panoramas of the observatory.

Process

  1. 50 years of first light
  2. 1Scope and goals
  3. 2Information architecture
  4. 3Wireframes
  5. 4Photography and 360° panoramas
  6. 5Development and interactions

The structure

The tour follows the order of a real night of observation, so the navigation reads as a journey instead of a menu.

  1. 1Start
  2. 2Arrival at the observatoryObservatory info
  3. 3Path to the domesInteractive activitySite info
  4. 4Henrietta SwopeControl roomTelescope infoTelescope 1
  5. 5Irénée du PontControl roomTelescope infoTelescope 2
  6. 6MagellanControl roomTelescopes infoTelescopes 3
  7. 7ExitFuture observatoryClosing message: protect dark skies
  8. 8CloseReview

Information architecture: eight scenes in the order of a night of observation.

Start
Scene: guide and context
Scene: featured content
Sub-scene: control room
Pop-up: telescope details
Pop-up: science activity
360° panorama
Close

The experience

360° views

My own panoramas of the observatory, also navigable with a VR headset.

360° panorama of the telescope dome. Drag in any direction to look around, up and down included. On a keyboard, use the arrow keys.
Mouse tracking

Interactions that respond to cursor movement and strengthen the feeling of exploring.

Recreated tour scene. Layers farther away move slower, which gives the view depth.

Results

I measured two goals with Google Analytics: giving people access and teaching them about the observatory, and an interface intuitive enough to encourage exploration.

Reach1,900

users in two years, starting with 365 in the first month.

Countries52

countries reached, up from 19 in the first month.

Completion1 in 4

visitors completed the full tour: 26.1% over two years and 28.2% at launch.

Engagement2 min 41 s

of average engagement per visitor over two years, for a self-guided tour. Launch-month visitors stayed 3 min 56 s.

Exploration3.7

views per visitor on average, with 4.3 in the first month. People moved through several scenes per visit.

Exclusive content513

visitors opened content available only on the tour, for 1,904 views. In the first month, 136 visitors and 582 views.

The completion rate held steady while traffic grew five-fold. People who arrived long after launch still finished the experience.

First month: 7 Oct to 7 Nov 2021. Two years: 7 Oct 2021 to 3 Sep 2023.