Hello lovely readers,
I am currently doing a bit of a revamp of my branding and actually making myself into a little business. This involves sorting out my website and a logo (more on logos soon!). Luckily for me my boyfriend is a web developer which means I get lots of help building my website!
While designing I’ve been browsing through some cool websites for inspiration, I though I’d share 5 of my favourites… Click on the images to take you to the sites themselves if you want to have a nose!
1. Quentin Blake
I adore Quentin Blake’s illustrations and was delighted to find that they are used to create his website. I love the handwritten navigation titles and would really like to use something similar. There’s something great about the handwritten text and neat & tidy sans serif combination. The colours are very simple with all the colour being from his illustrations.
2. Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is one of my favourite artists, and her website is one I have marvelled at for so long! It is interactive – given the simple line drawings you use the colour bar in the top right to fill in all the shapes in what ever colours you like. Genius.
3. Juliana Bicycles
This is one I came across whilst searching – I’ve tried an image and text combo before but you really do need beautiful images to make it work. I think they’ve done it rather well, and it’s a design that is being used by many companies at the moment; it feels raw and minimalistic which is very attractive.
4. Adam Hartwig
This is again a website I found whilst searching. It’s bold, bright, friendly and feels so inviting. It’s also interactive and the letters change as you roll over them which is pretty cool. Have a play around the website, it’s very cleverly designed – the transitions and the architecture are brilliant and quite different to anything I’ve seen before. All in all, pretty cool!
5. Mili Kuo
This is one of my favourites I’ve found so far. The welcome page with combination of handwritten styled and clean typesets and the homely feel of the pictures on the wall tell you a lot about the designer before you’ve even read about them. Their title is ‘interaction designer/developer’ so it’s no wonder the website is so much fun to play with!
That’s it for today’s round up of websites. I think what makes a good website for me is one that evokes a feeling that makes you want to stay with it – just like a good illustration or design would. Interactivity also seems to be a great benefit too and engages a user and encourages them to have a play around with your site and get to know you.
I think I have a lot to think about before I’m any way near ready to start coding mine…!
Nina
