The current site design is the default form of DKAN Drops. Changing some of the colors and layout to match ri.gov may prove useful, but keeping the modern design and functionality of DKAN is important.
Below, I've compiled a shortlist of the best DKAN sites:
World Bank - Perhaps the best of the bunch, the World Bank site has been massively redesigned and now features a tile structure.
Louisville, KY - Similar to the DKAN template, but features a search bar and example dataset on the homepage.
San Diego, CA - Similar to the Louisville site and the DKAN template, but with lighter colors.
Rhein-Neckar-Verkehr - Good use of colors and imagery. Layout may be a little unintuitive.
Belarus - Good colors, clean design, and a nice layout. Wouldn't be a bad site to model, although it's lacking in responsiveness and doesn't really provide a good template for other state sites.
The current site design is the default form of DKAN Drops. Changing some of the colors and layout to match ri.gov may prove useful, but keeping the modern design and functionality of DKAN is important.