north star :
to transcend boundaries, in honour of Winterson's uncategorisable brilliance
CREDITS.
DESIGN LEAD.
joss, TINA LI
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE.
DREAMS AND CO.
3D ILLUSTRATIONS.
CUBE AND TUBE
PHOTOGRAPHER.
JOSH SHAAW
To embody Winterson’s trademark boldness, our design quite literally played outside of the lines. Headers overlap images, creating a raw aesthetic, and images break past the borders of their segment backgrounds. Subtly shifting gradient videos serve as backgrounds to mirror Winterson’s fluidity and her belief that the universe is dynamic rather than static. Our colour story balances a rich dark blue with vibrant, anti-patriarchal choices such as hot pink and bright yellow, reflecting publication design for her most recent books and channelling Winterson’s high-spirited energy. And yet, as the author does in her sentence construction, we made UX decisions based on clarity and ease, eschewing fancier navigation design in favour of simplicity.
ABOUT.
AREA.
12048 SQFT · 1120 SQM
ROOMS.
40 ROOMS
HIGHLIGHTS.
POOL · SPA · 2 RESTAURANT
Winterson and her team were thrilled with the design, and felt the evocativeness of the design mirrored that of a contemporary company rather than the standard, old-fashioned and text-heavy design of most literary sites. Winterson was very pleased, and thanked Creative Director Joss Areté (Kelvin) within the published book, as a “digital innovator who knows the value of telling new stories.” The site steadily receives thousands of visitors each month, and Studio Areté remains on retainer, updating the site with new publications, articles, and appearances, including Winterson’s TED Talk, “Is Humanity Smart Enough to Survive Itself?”
