Mighty Citizen + Texas Historical Commission
The Texas Historical Commission (THC) is the official steward of the Lone Star State’s history, preserving and celebrating its stories, places, and cultural identity.
And our partnership goes way back. More than a decade ago, Mighty Citizen designed THC’s first major website upgrade. With evolving user needs and technology, they came back to us with a new challenge: Modernize their presence online while honoring the past.
The Results So Far
(Jan - April 2024 compared to Jan - April 2025)
Understanding the Challenge
The previous website had served the organization well, but was beginning to show its age. Ten years is a long time, after all!
Together, we identified five key goals for this redesign:
Simplify the navigation to help users easily find relevant content.
Organize the site by audience type, ensuring that travelers, preservationists, and historians can find information more efficiently.
Showcase stunning photography, particularly on pages dedicated to historic sites.
Optimize the site for mobile devices, improving usability across screens of all sizes.
Transition to Drupal 10 for enhanced flexibility, usability, and security.
Our Solution
We tackled the project in three distinct phases: Discovery, Information Architecture and Design, and Development.
1. Discovery: Setting the Foundation
Our first step was to dive deep into THC’s audiences and content. The goal? To build a site rooted in real needs and the organization’s goals. As always, the Discovery phase is about listening, learning, and aligning.
Content Audit: We evaluated the existing site’s content to identify redundancies, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
Audience Focus Group: By gathering feedback from the THC’s users, we gained valuable insights into their goals and pain points.
Discovery Brief: We created a strategic plan to address the site’s sprawl and realign content with user priorities.
2. Architecture and Design: Streamlining the User Journey
This phase was about transforming a sprawling, complex website into an intuitive, inviting experience where every visitor could quickly find what they came for.
The most important shift? We organized the entire site around audience type, making it easy for travelers, preservationists, historians, and curious Texans to quickly find what they need.
Sitemap: A crucial deliverable, the new sitemap became a tool the THC team regularly referenced throughout the project.
Layouts: We developed modular layouts designed to meet diverse audience needs, ensuring flexibility for the THC’s future updates.
Design: Inspired by the engaging visuals of travel sites, we refreshed the THC’s online visual identity with a contemporary design that uses larger, more impactful photography, but also retained a nod to history. Using duotone imagery and sepia tones, we evoked a historic aesthetic while keeping the design modern. We also collaborated with the THC team to create a cohesive icon system to help aid navigation.
3. Development: Building for the Future
Our development team’s recommendation to build the new site in Drupal 10 allowed us to plan for a site that was as functional as it was beautiful. The new, user-friendly CMS empowers the THC team to manage content independently with no manual coding requirements.
Key Features and Deliverables
Responsive Design: Fully optimized for mobile, tablet, and desktop devices, ensuring accessibility across platforms.
Audience-Specific Navigation: Clear pathways tailored to the THC’s primary audiences—travelers, preservationists, and historians.
Historic Sites Pages: Enhanced visuals and streamlined content for promoting Texas’ historic landmarks.
Sitemap and Modular Layouts: Flexible components allow the THC to adapt to changing needs while maintaining consistency.
Visual Transformation
The redesigned website represents a major leap forward in usability and aesthetics. The new homepage and historic sites pages bring Texas history to life, leveraging the THC’s stunning photography and modern design elements to engage and inspire visitors.
A Partnership Built on Trust
Our decade-long relationship with the Texas Historical Commission is a testament to the success of collaborative, research-driven design. From the beginning, the THC team approached this project with openness and purpose.
Together, we created more than a website. We built a digital front door to Texas history.
At Mighty Citizen, we’re proud to help mission-driven organizations like THC bring their stories to life through digital transformation. If you’re ready to reimagine how people experience your story online, let’s talk.