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Welcome to our sites of the month for April. With some websites, the details make all the difference, while in others, it is the overall tone or aesthetic that lifts the standard. In this collection, we have instances of both.
We also have some great examples of how to use horizontal scrolling on its own or in conjunction with vertical to enhance the user experience, add an extra dimension, or create a particular effect. Enjoy!
Kahlua
As part of a major rebrand, Kahlua has overhauled its website. Playing on the liqueur’s Mexican heritage, this telenovela-inspired advert campaign is referenced in the text, video, and colors.
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a Scottish folk musician based in Australia. The site is a good combination of clear navigation and a lighthearted use of Scottish archetypal symbols.
Harris
Horizontal scrolling, good images, and smooth animated transitions make this site for Harris paving tiles and bricks a pleasing experience to use.
Rough Cat
Independent film production company Rough Cat keeps things simple with links to video clips and a modal window for information. Visual interest is provided by fullscreen video on link hover.
Acre Creative
On Acre’s homepage, there is no scrolling; you simply click on the image present to see another. This has a nice feel to it, not unlike flicking through a magazine. There is an archive page, too, for selecting specific images to view.
Flying Papers
Flying Papers is a manufacturer of rolling papers and other similar items. The site is fun, with a comic book aesthetic and lots of color.
Maelan Le Meur
This single-page portfolio site has some lovely, smooth transitions and text animations. The change from black background to brown adds sophistication.
Zerodois
Reflecting the simple shapes of its products, Zerodois’ site is very minimal. The product pages are split in two, with a horizontal scrolling top section, which allows you to see different configurations while the information section stays in place.
Akaru
The blend of horizontal and vertical scrolling, along with scaling on Akaru’s home page, creates a pleasing, almost circular effect in places.
Drop
A minimal color palette of black, white, and mid-grey, with occasional yellow accents, is cleverly used here. Background and foreground are swapped around to create emphasis and contrast.
BuildBox
This site for modular house builders, BuildBox, includes a virtual walkthrough and a house configurator but still manages to maintain a natural feeling of narrative flow to its content.
Haus
Haus digital creative agency succeeds in adding character to its site by making good use of fun, hand-drawn lettering, and randomly scattered images.
Sky
Sky describes itself as a brand elevation studio. This is reflected in the website by images of clouds, and faded blue backgrounds coupled with a simple, slightly rounded font. The ‘work’ menu is a nice feature.
365
This year review for Cartier features an infinite scrolling spiral of images as a menu, each linking to either an interactive ‘experience’ or an individually styled article. The overall effect is visually rich.
Human After All
Human After All design studio has opted for a clean style softened by using dark blue for text instead of black, rounded corners, hand-drawn, simple illustrations, and a reassuring pink. The result is professional but personable.
Artificial Garage
This might seem a little unprepossessing at first glance, but a closer look reveals some nice details: the garage door animated logo and color inversion for sold listings. The use of yellow and well-placed lines creates a retro aesthetic in a nod to the 1970s glory days of motorsport.
100 Years of Columbia Pictures
This is a pleasing little microsite that largely acts as a portal to other sites for Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures. The quiz utilizes some satisfying interactions, and the clip reel will make any user think ‘must watch that again’ multiple times.
Basement Foundry
Basement Foundry is an offshoot of Basement design studio, and like its parent site, this makes a strong statement with lots of red on black (or white if the user prefers). This fits well with the display typefaces on offer.
For Your Consideration
For Your Consideration is an agency representing a range of creative artists, mostly photographers. Navigation feels integrated with the content which increases engagement, but at the same time remains simple and clear.
Suzie & Leo
Creative duo Suzie & Leo’s portfolio site feels compact and well-ordered while still holding a lot of visual content. The brutalist style works well with the crisp state changes.
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