A diverse group of four people in a library setting focuses intently on a tablet and open books. Red and black rectangles sit on top of the image, containing the words "Building Knowledge, Breaking Barriers."
Background

Building Knowledge & Breaking Barriers is an archives-based learning initiative developed with the Presbyterian Historical Society and the Community College of Philadelphia. The project brings students into direct engagement with historical materials, using archives to explore access, interpretation, and whose stories are preserved.

Supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, the initiative included a public-facing digital experience to share classroom work and a student-led exhibition emerging from the program.

Challenge

Present academic and archival material in a way that felt accessible to students and useful beyond the classroom.

Solution

A visually clear, student-forward online experience designed to support exploration and learning.

Results

A focused platform that makes the project’s work visible and usable for educators, students, and the public.

Challenge

Present academic and archival material in a way that felt accessible to students and useful beyond the classroom.

Solution

A visually clear, student-forward online experience designed to support exploration and learning.

Results

A focused platform that makes the project’s work visible and usable for educators, students, and the public.

Laptop screen displaying the BKBB archive website, featuring an image of a library interior with tables, chairs, and bookshelves. Hands are typing, suggesting research.
The Objective
Support learning and visibility through design

The work focused on creating a web experience that could hold student work, research, and reflection without feeling overly academic or difficult to navigate. The design needed to respect the material while remaining approachable for audiences new to archival study.

Four colorful cards against a gray background. Top is yellow with "BKBB Archive," followed by red "Student Exhibit," teal "Experience the Archive," and yellow "Teach the Archive." Each card features bold, black-and-white text, conveying a creative, educational theme.
Assembly News newspaper featuring a headline about Thelma Adair as moderator. Includes articles on church topics and a black-and-white photo of attendees.
Living Archive
Student engagement with primary sources

The project archive includes curated source sets drawn from the Presbyterian Historical Society collection, paired with historical context, author perspective, and reading questions to support classroom use. Together, these materials invite students to work with archives as active participants rather than passive observers.

A person sits holding a smartphone in one hand. The phone screen displays an educational interface about historical sources, including topics related to colonization and history. The person wears jeans, a light-colored top, and several bracelets, with a small star tattoo visible on their wrist.
Color palette & Typography
Black
Red
Yellow
Teal
Gray
Rubik Medium
Rubik Regular
Rubik Light
Text on a teal background reads, "Design that gives student work space to be seen and understood." The tone is professional and uplifting.
Challenges & Accommodations
Making a large amount of content easy to explore

The project brought together a significant volume of material, including archival sources, teaching resources, and student work. The challenge was creating a system that made this content approachable and easy to move through without feeling dense or overwhelming, while still conveying how the materials related to one another.

A tablet device displayed at an angle on a muted green background, showing the BKBB website’s ‘Sources’ page. The screen features a navigation bar, filters, and a grid of historical document thumbnails labeled as primary sources.
Outcomes
A clear and usable educational resource

The final digital experience provides Building Knowledge & Breaking Barriers with a stable, well-organized way to share its work. It supports classroom use, public engagement, and ongoing reference, while keeping the focus on student inquiry and archival exploration.