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03 11 13
Uniqlo, the Japanese clothing giant, has always held both innovation and design as core components of its brand identity. The launch of the U.S. site last fall pushes its affordable, yet stylish minimalism with a healthy dose of the latest in dynamic and responsive site design out into the very competitive mass market apparel industry. The new site is structured more like a Tumblr blog vs. your typical apparel or retail site. The catalog or magazine-influenced layouts that have dominated the retail category are nowhere to be found with a long scrolling homepage, highlighting both the latest promotional efforts, as well as regular site features. Graphics and copy are bold and pared down, allowing easy movement from the desktop computer to tablets and smartphones. It all looks and smells like the next generation of online mass marketing to us…
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03 08 13
Rei Kawakubo… Photograph by Irving Penn. Published in Vogue, March 1993.
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03 08 13
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03 08 13
Site SPOTTED. Acne, a Swedish fashion collective stands for Ambition to Create Novel Expressions (not the adolescent skin condition). Founded in Stockholm in 1996, Acne Studios is a clothing company, a production company, an advertising agency, and a publisher with one of the coolest print magazines on the market, Acne Paper. Acne markets and communicates exclusively through its own media (website, print, video). Like almost all things Scandinavian, its site presents the clothing line in a classically pared-down approach. Photography is a mix of runway shots, silhouettes of fresh-faced models or simple product images. Typography is clean and tasteful with a small dose of boldness. Descriptive or promotional copy is minimal. Navigation is straight-forward. E-commerce and customer service pages are both concise and reassuring. Skinny jeans aside, if you are looking for the minimal chic thing for wardrobe basics, think Acne…
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03 08 13
Site SPOTTED. BBDW, is a small American furniture company owned by Tyler Hays, a painter and sculptor. Each piece of BBDW furniture is built by hand in the company’s Brooklyn studio. Their web presence reflects both their high level of craftmanship and a minimalist approach to design. Beautifully styled photographs against a clean white background dominate the site. Minimal description and navigation queues easily guide the visitor around this artfully imagined site. If you’re finally ready to take the plunge into adult home furnishing and love the idea of warm, natural American craftmanship meets modern styling, BBDW could be a good match. All solid investments for a well crafted home life…
