HI!

 

I´m the AD of a schoolproject that includes a real client. We´re about to redesign their homepage, www.thelocalfirm.com (clothing company/fashion)

 

I´m still in school and it would be a bummer not to ask you pros for inspiration;

 

I need dark, bauhaus low-tech webbsites for inspiration! Most of my inspirational blogs/sites have wonderful illustrated or typecentered designs represented, but I need something different for this one.

 

The hard one with this client is the interactiondesign and sitemapping but we´ve finished the wireframes and that part. Still the new site is freezing its butt and need some cool clothes... it would be awesome to get your input.

 

thnx

 

samuel larsson, stockholm

Hope this helps.

 

Dark Designs

 

More Dark Designs

 

Even More Dark Designs

 

This Is Getting Silly Now

When you say Bauhaus, do you mean the German art school or the post-punk gothic rockers?

 

If it's the former, it doesn't really scream Bauhaus at me, but I'm not sure if that is your intention anyway. Take a look at some of Herbert Bayer's more typographic work. You might find some inspiration there, which could fit in quite nicely.

 

I don't know how much control you have over the photographs, but there are some in there I would replace, mainly the top few on the 'Look Books'. I think they are too light for the site, the models look too static across the shots, and they look a bit 'mug-shot'. The ones further down the pages are much stronger, and more in keeping with the look I think you're going for.

 

I would also have a think about how those pages are laid out. There is a lot of scrolling for a long column of large pictures. I would look at using thumbnails and a slideshow.

 

Hope this helps

thank you!

dark, bauhaus low-tech

 

Yea these three words say totally different things to me, it might be worth looking at minimal, contemporary designs of you want to go down the Bauhaus route (not the band), alternatively, if it is for a fashion website, check out some 'competitors' to see what they are doing right...

 

River Island

Topshop

Chanel Fashion

Dolce & Gabanna

 

etc etc

Okay, there are a bit confusion here - my fault.

 

thelocalfirm.com is the old site - not our redesigned one. I totally agree with your opinions on the old one.

 

"Bauhaus inspired"as in the german art school yes. Heavy element and dynamic lines composed with balance. But I want to put some lowtechfeeling on top of this and will use some retro computer fonts. So I have to build the design on other elements than large types. I haven´t really found any websites that I could use as inspiration but the dark top 50sites were great input anyway, I had input from parts of theese designs.

 

For our brief the competitors are perhaps doing everything right for their brand, but nothing right for thelocalfirm

 

So, do you guys know any websites that breethes Bauhaus, but not built on large typography? The darker the better.

What is your actual brief?

 

Is it to look Bauhaus? Be inspired by elements of Bauhaus? Is Bauhaus you're choice or imposed on you? Why must it be dark?

Is it to communicate the values and aspirations of the target market for the clothes? If so, who are they? (In the real world, this is the important bit!)

 

Bauhaus was a modernist movement, and often far from dark and low-tech. Bauhaus has modernist sans-serif fonts, retro computer fonts are serif. There seems to be two different styles going on, and which one should take priority?

 

Without knowing you're full brief, it's hard to say what you are looking to achieve. I'm not saying what you are doing is wrong, but it would help to know what the objective and the constraints of the design are. (without any its not design, it's art )

What is your actual brief?

 

Is it to look Bauhaus? Be inspired by elements of Bauhaus? Is Bauhaus you're choice or imposed on you? Why must it be dark?

Is it to communicate the values and aspirations of the target market for the clothes? If so, who are they? (In the real world, this is the important bit!)

 

Bauhaus was a modernist movement, and often far from dark and low-tech. Bauhaus has modernist sans-serif fonts, retro computer fonts are serif. There seems to be two different styles going on, and which one should take priority?

 

Without knowing you're full brief, it's hard to say what you are looking to achieve. I'm not saying what you are doing is wrong, but it would help to know what the objective and the constraints of the design are. (without any its not design, it's art )

 

I´m sorry but I just don´t have time to interpret the whole brief right know, its in swedish. You have to trust me, the intentions for this is design

 

If the team is satisfied with the result and if the client is allright with putting the brief in public I can share it with you later, if you like.

 

For now, I´m just interested if you knew any bauhaus inspired sites, in any way, anyhow, anymeans a webdesign that reminds you about bauhaus, and it seems like you know what youre talking about!. I´m glad to get any fresh input to the project. Thanks!

I can't think of a website off the top of my head that screams "I'm Bauhaus", but it has had such an influence on design there will always be elements of it everywhere.

 

If I was briefed to build an obviously themed Bauhaus site, I would be looking to use a plain background (probably white or light grey), limiting the palette to black and either primary colours or red/orange/brown, geometric shapes, and brief too-the-point copy in varying sizes and weights of a sans-serif font. As 'function dictates form' it would be quite minimalist - plain text links, no drop-downs and no icons. The risk would be designing a site that becomes a caricature of Bauhaus though.

 

Hope that helps.

Yes it does! Do you want me to email you once we´re done, to see how everything turned out, i´d be glad to.

Glad it helped.

 

Feel free to send me details - then I can say I know a Bauhaus influenced website!

Bauhaus was more of a design ethic than a look. Perhaps Swedish modernism might be more what you're after? The master of type-centric design for me is Joseph Muller Brockmann.