I’m a sucker for websites that feel like you’re flipping through a beautifully directed art magazine. Historically speaking, editorial design on the web is hard to pull off well. This week’s newsletter is all about sites with beautifully curated photography, typography, and design, plus a high-end feel.

Julia Noni

The design feels like flipping through a photographer’s contact sheet, restrained, gallery-like, and totally content to let the work do the talking. What I appreciate is the bracketed nav bar; it’s a subtle detail borrowed by mastheads. The image is the star of the show, and its negative white space is what gives the site its editorial feel.

Sailing Collective

The design feels like an old moody travel film. The serif logotype paired with that nav is a classic editorial move, and it works because the grainy seascape photo underneath gives it something to contrast against. What I love most is that they let foliage silhouettes overlap the hero text. It gives depth to the overall design.

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Cinemagoer

The design feels like it belongs on a film festival poster. There’s a big, full-bleed movie still from Au Revoir Les Enfants that changes depending on the recommendation. It’s a genuinely clever concept pairing interviews with a “Film of the Week” recommendation. It grounds the whole site, which is such a smart way to keep people coming back.

Materia

The design feels like what I mean when I say “editorial done properly.” The contrasty, cursive “M” against the bold sans “ATERIA” wordmark adds a bit of tension. It’s playful but still refined. The hero does exactly what a magazine cover should. It’s one striking photo, with a punchy headline.

That’s it for this collection, see you next week!

— Ana :)

This week it’s all about sound. I fell in love with some very interesting and, to a degree, experimental sites that are special in their own unique way. So this week’s newsletter is dedicated to music and audio-driven website finds.

Hyper Dreams

The design feels bold, just like the respective artists. The halftone pattern complements the blue-and-orange color palette perfectly. The bold, jagged logo mark in the center holds the whole thing together.

I really like that the halftone treatment gives it that raw, screen-printed flyer feel, like something you’d rip off a club wall.

Architects x Sinyaard Design

The design feels experimental. The scratched film with the light leak adds a lot of depth to the overall design. It looks like the letters are warping and glowing. Like the page itself took damage, while a hand reaching toward a blown-out light sits underneath it.

I really like that the chaos actually suits the band. Nothing here is clean or polished, and for a band like this, clean would’ve felt like a lie.

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Molchat Doma

The design feels hypnotic in a very specific way. There’s rippling; hand-drawn contour lines radiate out from the center of the screen that look like a sound wave. The jagged yellow band logo sits right in the middle of it, adding contrast against all that black.

I really like that the moving lines do the job album art usually does. You don’t need a photo or a hero video here; the animation alone tells you exactly what kind of sound you’re about to hear before you’ve pressed play.

I really like the slight VHS glitch feel that animation has, combined with the moving lines. Very raw, just like Molchat Doma.

(I highly recommend them if you like moody/new-wave music)

Midlife Engineering

The design feels very peaceful. A chunky, realistic render of a hardware synth sits front and center, all knobs and pads and a tiny glowing screen. There’s a giant lowercase type spelling “midlife engineering” underneath the synth that adds a nice touch.

I really like that the whole site commits to the physical-object vibe that the old icons on desktop and apps used to have. Also, it’s very interesting that it’s completely interactive, and you can click on the different buttons.

That’s it for this collection, see you next week!

— Ana :)

This week I fell into an illustration rabbit hole. Sites that show a bit of whimsy and are playful, while still being on-brand. So this week’s newsletter is dedicated to sites where the illustration is the design.

Bouquet Infusions

The design feels warm and a bit playful before you’ve read even a single word. There’s a simple line art of a girl with a flower for hair, hunched over a mug, that sits right at the center of the page. The Ivory LL font pairs nicely with the illustration, and it’s cohesive with the brand itself.

I really like that the illustration is loose and a bit imperfect with hand-drawn lines. It matches the “no artificial anything” claims perfectly.

Inside the Mind of Samuel Day

The design feels like it’s daring you to keep scrolling. A tall, condensed serif spells out the name across a punchy red background, while a bold, flat illustration of a character gripping his own head sits right underneath it. The character is enticing you to look inside his head. It’s a little unsettling in the best possible way; that grin is a little too wide.

I really like that you can see where the inspiration for the character comes from. The art style is heavily inspired by Disney’s early animated shorts. It pairs well with the overall theme.

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ysabella nicole alvarez

The design feels like flipping through someone’s mood board. A little sketched portrait sits pinned on top of a blue sticky note, angled slightly off, like it was just tossed there between two other notes. Nothing is perfectly aligned, and that’s what makes it whimsical and fun.

I really like that the illustration doesn’t try to look important. It’s a quick, loose sketch, barely more than a scribble, but it’s exactly what makes the whole page feel personal instead of being a basic template.

Social Impact Capital

The design feels like an old engraving, but with a modern twist. The dense, blue line art pairs nicely with the two goddess statues. An interesting twist is the satellites and power lines that add another dimension to the site.

I really like the subtle story behind the art choice. It shows that you need the wisdom of the past and the tools of the present working together to actually get anywhere better.

That’s it for this collection, see you next week!

— Ana :)

This week I was inspired by websites that show restraint. Sites that actually utilize empty space to its full potential, simple colors, and an element that ties it all together. So this week’s newsletter is dedicated to websites that actually pull minimalism off.

​Obys Agency

The design feels like a studio that wants their work to speak for itself. There’s a huge left-aligned wordmark, greyscale project thumbnails stacked down the center, a sidebar list of past projects fading in and out of focus depending on what’s active. Everything is so simple and unnoticeable, except for the portfolio.

I really like the layout showcasing the projects instead of overwhelming you with a grid. One project sits front and center at a time, framed by these thin curved brackets, so your attention never has to fight the interface for space.

Maximilian Kaspar

The design feels minimal at first glance, but looking at it, you see all the little details that make it come to life. A faint ASCII-art bird sits in the background, made entirely out of characters and symbols, while a huge lowercase type steals the spotlight. The type itself is gorgeous.

​I really like that the ASCII bird adds a lot of depth to the design, while being almost invisible. It’s the kind of detail you’d miss on a first scroll, but once you catch it, it changes how you read the whole page.

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​Masahito Leo Takeuchi

The design is very simple, but very entertaining. Off-white background, small lowercase nav in the corner. The name and title are shown in the middle with a lot of open space. Then the animated pixel-art rabbits add a bit of whimsy to it.

I really like the two small pixel-art rabbits wandering around the page as the one animated touch. It’s such a tiny detail against all that emptiness, but it’s exactly why it works. Without the rabbits, the design would feel boring and lifeless. It’s interesting how much a simple design element can add to a website.

Asim Portfolio

The design feels calm and soothing to the eyes. A soft aura gradient is in the corner, timestamps and a thin horizontal line float at the top, and the nav is reduced to a very short list. The Arabic calligraphy adds a brilliant depth to the design. You can hover over the letters and it explains their meaning.

I really like the soft aura gradient here. It goes perfectly with the Arabic letters. Against all that cream background and sparse type, the aura gradient adds a sweet touch.

That’s it for this collection, see you next week!

— Ana :)

I’ve been stuck in a weird design hole lately. This past week I was looking through designs that have a rather raw feel to them, sites that looked “unfinished” in a way. It’s quite refreshing seeing brutalist-inspired web design. Everything online right now feels polished and safe. So, this week’s newsletter is dedicated to websites that do the opposite.

​Architecture of Socialist-Era Belgrade

The design feels like a poster pulled out of 80s Brutalist Belgrade. It’s a bit meta, a brutalist website dedicated to brutalist architecture. The blocky, stenciled red type is slapped on top of the black and white pictures of the brutalist towers.

​I really like the design choice to showcase the history behind the architecture of the time. Anything cleaner or more polished would’ve undersold the history it’s telling.

​Departure Mono

The design feels like an old-school sci-fi mission briefing. If you look closely at the details, you can see that it’s a space mission. Technically, this is a font specimen site, but with clever storytelling.

I really like that instead of using a simple site to showcase the pixel font, there is a whole story surrounding it. Not only that, but there’s a certain rawness that echoes brutalism, one that captures the font’s essence perfectly.

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CREVV

The design feels like a clash between bold and minimal. When you land on the homepage, it’s all blue, with a tiny wolf crest and a small animated star above it. There’s barely anything there. But if you scroll down to see the projects, it looks like a scrapbook. Very raw, but it instantly catches your eye.

I like that there is a slight mismatch in styles. Normally, that kind of inconsistency would bother me, but here it kind of works because some design elements, like the blue cursor, tie everything together.

​CANDYCHIU

The design feels like it’s been stripped down to its essentials, except for a single element. The orange background, monospace type, and plain links all come off as raw and plain. But then there’s the spinning wristband graphic that ties it all together.

I really like the spinning wristband graphic. It’s a bit of a sensory overload, but in a good way. It’s the single design graphic that ties everything together and gives it personality.

That’s it for this collection, see you next week!

— Ana :)

Sons & Daughters

The design feels like a warm welcome into the cafe. The big sans-serif wordmark, the cream background, and the tiny picture of the door capture the scenery perfectly. Afterwards, a scroll animation triggers, showing the full picture of the restaurant that pulls you from the doorstep right into the dining room.

I really like the storytelling here that’s created by the scroll animation. The pacing is perfect. It gives you the feeling that you’re part of their family-owned restaurant. The beige palette combined with the old photography creates the sense of nostalgia that I love.

Allta

The design feels bold and elegant at the same time. That huge script wordmark is across the whole screen, almost dripping off the sides of a dark backdrop. The font combined with the photography makes you want to go there instantly.

I really like the bold classiness Alta has. The layout is a bit unconventional, but it pulls you in. You can see the attention to detail in every photo they have.​

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Little Amps Coffee Roasters

​The design feels like it’s got a full-on personality, guitar pedals and all. The little sunglasses-wearing sun mascot next to a serif headline like “Amp Up Your Mornings” tells you exactly what kind of coffee shop this is before you’ve read a single word.

I really like the video where they show different shots that capture the vibe of the brand perfectly. The added illustrations are a nice touch that add a bit of whimsy, instead of just photographing a bag of beans.

​Ironhill

The design feels like it’s pulling you into the woods to discover things unknown. Two colors carry the whole thing, a warm cream and a deep, mossy green, which add to the story before you even know what you’re looking at.

​I really like that Ironhill creates a story, and then tells about the products. It builds the mood first, and then it reveals the folk-tale illustrations. The illustrations of the Skunk Ape are a nice touch.

That’s it for this collection, see you next week!

— Ana :)

Vap Studio

The design feels very loud and maximalist in the best possible way, with the repeating pattern of red, pink, green, and orange shapes wrapping around a black center like a frame. The simple oversized ERREUR type pairs with the colorful block of the Vap logo.

​I really like the contrast that the color palette gives. The colors look like they’re pulled from a seventies magazine. It’s like controlled chaos.

Aria

The design feels glitchy and cinematic, with the chromatic aberration effect washing over a dark, almost VHS-static background paired with a clean monospace type. It kinda has a liminal feel to it.

​I really like the meaning behind the text. It shows the power of the company and how much impact it has in our everyday lives without us even knowing. They protect IP rights, and for most of us, it doesn’t mean a lot, but we all consume music and art daily. They protect what means the most to the human soul.

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​

Journey

The design feels bold and fun, with the massive condensed type taking up almost the entire screen, paired with a scattered collage of photos that drifts around like the old bouncing DVD screensaver we all know and love.

​I really like that slow, aimless drift of the collage that gives a strange, physical quality, like content just floating there with nowhere to go, and it turns a static error page into something that feels alive.

Palmer

The design feels warm and homey, with an overhead scatter of ceramic bowls and cups in muted earthy tones set against a soft cream background. The serif-adjacent type for “Page not found” sits calmly in the center, letting the ceramics do the visual work instead of competing with them.

I really like that this feels less like an error page and more like a shelf you’d actually want to browse. Even the error on this site page gives the ceramics the room to shine.

That’s it for this collection, see you next week!

— Ana :)

We all know that first impressions matter, especially if you’re building a name for yourself. That’s why I thought that this week’s newsletter should be dedicated to portfolios that left a strong impression on me, even after I left the website.

Michael Brown

The design feels very editorial with the dark chocolate and cream palette, combined with the oversized typography. It shows that negative space can have a lot of impact when it’s done right. With the combination of interesting scroll animations (without them being overdone) and the black and white photography, it gives the whole site a confident, magazine-like feel.

I really like the color combination on this one. A lot of “minimal” portfolios gravitate towards using a black and white palette, which is always a safe bet. But with slight color adjustments, this website shows a lot of character, and a lot of Michael Brown’s character as well.

Killian Herzer

The design feels like it comes from a thriller. It’s a very original concept, honestly. It turns a developer portfolio into an interactive investigation on him. The red accent color gives it a nice contrast, and adds to the overall theme.

I really like the tension between the elegant serif wordmark and the glitchy timestamps and coordinate details around it. The contrast between refined and raw makes it stand out.

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Liquidities by Adam Ho

The design feels like a hybrid between 70s tech nostalgia and 2020s glitch/halftone digital art. The pixelated “Liquidities” wordmark, half-blocky and half-refined serif, shows the duality. It’s like the logo is caught mid-render between two formats.

I really like that the site steps away from the typical NFT aesthetic, and instead of the usual glossy, gradient look, it leans into an editorial, pop-art feel that breaks away from the stereotypes.

NoGood

The design feels loud in the best possible way. The acid-green backdrop paired with the earthy color scheme of the character illustration creates an immediate contrast that makes the artwork the clear focal point.

I really like how the retro tech, cyberpunk identity is consistent throughout, from the typography and badge motifs to the illustration itself. It has amazing world-building that pulls you in.

That’s it for this collection, see you next week!

— Ana :)

This week I thought we try something different. Most “corporate” websites have that boring look to them that just have no taste or character. To help fight this, I’m sharing these websites to hopefully inspire your current or future business websites!

Kinhive

The design feels warm, inviting, and modern. It blends a soft color palettes with high-quality, friendly lifestyle photography to create an atmosphere that feels deeply collaborative and human-centric rather than cold or overly corporate

I really like the design of the call-to-action box. The soft, rounded corners and a pale yellow background make it pop without feeling aggressive.

Primora

The design feels incredibly sleek, dark, and highly technical. Relying on a deep black background accented by sharp bursts of neon purple and data-driven visuals, it creates a serious, high-end Web3 or fintech aesthetic.

I really like how the layout uses thin, glowing grid lines and minimalist data visualizations (like the floating nodes and bar charts) to break up the text without adding clutter. The contrast between the stark white typography and the vibrant purple accent colors makes the dense information feel organized, modern, and easy to read.

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North of Zero

The design feels bold, energetic, and slightly disruptive. Relying heavily on an aggressively bright neon-green palette mixed with stark blacks and whites, the aesthetic aims to communicate high impact and rapid growth.

I really like the use of chunky, textured 3D graphics mixed with flat 2D shapes. The way the design breaks out of traditional grid structures makes scrolling down the page feel like an active, engaging experience.

Human Futures

The design feels highly editorial, sharp, and confident. Relying on a stark black, white, and orange color palette with massive, bold typography, it creates an atmosphere of strategic precision, avoiding soft or purely decorative elements in favor of impactful messaging.

I really like the sheer scale of the typography. The massive “HUMAN FUTURES” logo and huge footer text make the brand feel solid and grounded.

That’s it for this this one, see you next week!

— Dario :)

This week I needed to level up my creativity for my own projects, and I thought why not see what people are experimenting these days. So, these are the top websites I found that caught my attention. Hope you enjoy!

Indigo

The design for Indigo Laboratory feels luxurious, sensory, and highly conceptual. It acts as an immersive storytelling canvas, using sophisticated and calm visuals intertwined with delicate interactivity to build a deeply artisanal and mysterious atmosphere.

I really like how the balance of calm colors with subtle interactive elements allows the intricate details and meaning behind each handcrafted piece to stand out beautifully.

Creative Approach

The design feels highly artistic, immersive, and exploratory. It acts as a massive digital collage, using a dark background to make the dense, scattered arrangement of paintings, etchings, and drawings pop out vibrantly.

I really like the floating collage layout. Instead of a rigid grid, the overlapping images create a sense of discovery and depth. The subtle sidebar menus on the left and right keep the navigation out of the way, allowing the sheer volume and texture of the artwork to completely dominate the screen.

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Hubtown

The design feels highly futuristic, cinematic, and tech-driven. With its deep neon-blue glows and dark atmospheric landscape it gives off a strong sci-fi and cutting-edge aesthetic.

I really like the immersive depth created by the glowing 3D cube hovering over the reflective water and mountains. The tech-inspired typography and minimal menu layout keep the interface sleek, allowing the atmospheric background to gain full attention.

21 Hours on the Moon

The design feels incredibly cinematic, immersive, and educational. With its stark black-and-white color palette, massive typography, and high-contrast imagery of the moon set against the deep black of space, the aesthetic is deeply dramatic.

I really like how the UI incorporates subtle, tech-inspired interface elements like the corner brackets and top-left control icons making it feel like a control panel or a spacecraft monitor.

That’s it for this collection, see you next week!

— Dario :)

These simple online galleries are what caught my attention this week. I do love discovering photos, paintings and art, so these websites scratched that itch. Enjoy the collection, and have fun scrolling!

Gufram

Gufram’s website feels wonderfully bold, playful, and deeply artistic. It mirrors the brand’s history of “Radical Design” and pop-art furniture by functioning less like a traditional e-commerce store and more like a colorful canvas.

I love how the layout uses smooth 3D renders floating in space. The scrolling experience constantly reveals new, unexpected visual surprises, perfectly matching the quirky nature of their furniture.

Ella Thomas

Ella Thomas’s portfolio website feels clean, modern, and highly focused on the visual work. It leans heavily into a minimalist aesthetic, using simple layouts and ample white space to ensure her painting, art direction, and digital design take center stage without any distractions.

I really like how the straightforward navigation prevents the website itself from competing with her colorful artwork and figures. The use of large, high-quality images arranged in a clean grid makes it feel like walking through a well-lit, contemporary art gallery.

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Lost memories

The design feels quiet, nostalgic, and deeply personal. Opting for a highly minimal, gallery-like space that gives the scanned physical photos and film strips all the attention.

I love the use of interactive digital elements to mimic physical objects like being able to flip the photos over to look for handwritten clues on the back, or lighting up the film slides to see the images. It is a very clever way to make a simple gallery site feel like a tangible archive of forgotten history.

Waste space

The website feels like a raw, digital mood board or an underground archive. The vibe is very edgy, editorial, and intentionally chaotic.

I love how by removing all the usual website elements like menus, headers, and text, it forces you to focus entirely on the visual curation.

That’s it for this collection, see you next week!

— Dario :)

This week I’ve collected a few websites that caught my attention with their brilliant animations and motion graphics. I’m normally not a fan of overly animated sites, often times it’s doing too much. But these ones do just right. Hope you enjoy today’s collection :)

Segurado

Tone Segurado’s website feels incredibly artistic, warm, and welcoming. It’s heavily visually driven, looking more like an interactive digital gallery or a motion graphics playground than a traditional corporate portfolio.

What I personally like is how the website uses compelling animations and a clear structure to guide you through his work like a story.

Ben Elwyn

Benjamin Elwyn’s portfolio website has a deeply personal, experimental, and interactive feel. Instead of relying on a standard agency layout, it uses a unique, hands-on aesthetic that makes you want to click and explore. The overall vibe is playful but highly skilled, showing off his abilities as both a designer and a developer.

What I personally like is the retro-digital, "hacker" aesthetic while still feeling very modern and skillfully executed.

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Evgenii Astapov

The site has a clean, highly structured, and professional look. It focuses on clear layouts and easy-to-use systems rather than flashy or confusing visuals.

What I personally liked about it is the use of simple typography and smart spacing that makes the site feel like a well-organized dashboard. The modular layout keeps everything easy to navigate without feeling crowded.

Flayks

The design feels highly conceptual, modern, and a little experimental. It features minimal layouts mixed with funky, unique grid structures that give it a very strong editorial vibe.

I love the bold font choices and the smooth scrolling. The offbeat grid layout is super fun and makes it feel much more creative and distinct than a standard portfolio.

That’s it for this week, see you in the next one!

— Dario :)

For this week’s issue, I picked out four one page sites that caught my attention. Hope you enjoy the selection!

The Equator Company

The design feels clean, structured, and highly professional. It prioritizes clear communication and functionality over flashy visuals, leaning into a modern corporate aesthetic that conveys reliability and forward-thinking expertise.

11 Bar

The design feels intimate with a refined hospitality aesthetic that leans on atmosphere and exclusivity. It comes across as polished and elegant rather than flashy, with a cocktail-focused presentation that suggests a curated, upscale night-out experience.

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Poch Studio

The design feels calm, elegant, and perfectly organized, letting the studio’s actual work take center stage. It avoids overwhelming the viewer with complicated layouts, opting instead for a smart and clean structure. Small details, like subtle animations and pops of color, add a playful, fresh energy,

The New Industrials

The design feels like a premium editorial piece. Long-form, essay-like, blending sharp writing with a clean, restrained layout that lets the ideas breathe. The overall mood is bold with an energetic and vibrant color palette.

That’s it, more to see next week!

— Dario :)

This design just feels timeless. Blending mid-century modern sturdiness with an energetic, slightly retro aesthetic. Drawing inspiration from obscure 70s typography, the visual identity uses colorful, rhythmic boldness to complement the dark, polished wood of the furniture.

Vacation

This one also feels like a fully immersive tribute to 1980s beach resort culture. It leans heavily into a retro, world-building aesthetic, mimicking vintage advertisements through a blend of playful copy, nostalgic humanist sans-serif fonts, and colors reminiscent of towels and sunflowers.

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Sol

The overall aesthetic is minimal, modern, and slightly sci-fi, which fits the wearable e-reader concept. It looks like a high-end consumer site rather than a generic brand.

Kit

The design feels modern, bold, and wellness-forward, with a strong red-led identity that gives it energy and confidence. It comes across as premium but approachable, with a clean, direct presentation that makes the brand feel active and distinctive.

That’s it, more to see next week!

— Dario :)