The Book of HOV
thebookofhov.comA Webby-winning digital guide for JAY-Z’s complete takeover of the Brooklyn Public Library. The platform helped turn the branch into one of the city’s most visited cultural destinations, drawing more than 600,000 visitors in three months.
- For use at the library and also at home
- Bilingual and fully accessible
- Multimedia with audio tour, videos, music, and details about over 300 objects
- 600,000 visitors to the library, a 74% increase
- Webby award winner!
- At-home website and on-site mobile audio tour
- Multimedia content design
- Bilingual and accessible interface
- Visitor experience
- Design and engineering
The Book Of HOV is a landmark exhibition celebrating JAY-Z’s life and work through a complete takeover of Brooklyn Public Library’s Central Branch. Nearly 300 artifacts from his personal archive filled the reading rooms, transforming the library into a cultural monument.
As Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez told The New York Times, the library is “a place that feels comfortable. It’s not intimidating. A lot of people go to the museum, but a lot of people don’t.”
We developed a mobile-first website to guide visitors through the exhibition and archive it for those far beyond Brooklyn. Each section mirrors a gallery room, pairing audio tours with installation views and detailed object information.
Over 600,000 people attended the exhibition, turning the library into one of New York City’s most visited cultural destinations that summer.
The website was built to be fully inclusive: all audio content is transcribed for hearing-impaired visitors, and the entire experience is available in both English and Spanish.
For remote audiences, the desktop version provides an index-style overview, allowing people to jump directly to exhibition sections and browse objects from home. Pitchfork described the digital layer: “On The Book of HOV’s website, you can find audio clips, text, and photos of the exhibition, which populates a significant portion of the 352,000-square-foot building.”
As Variety noted, “Best of all? It’s free to everyone, and for those unable to visit, the entire exhibit is available at thebookofhov.com, with detailed information and photos of each item.”
Radio personality Angie Martinez provides a continuous audio narration that plays as visitors browse, guiding them through the exhibition like a personal tour. The audio player doubles as navigation, allowing users to move between chapters as they would through the galleries themselves.
Or as one visitor put it: “I want to start with how f***ing cool the website is.”
This project won a Webby Award in 2024.
