Artist’s Bungalow

Artist’s Bungalow has a unique business model of being a liaison between Internet customers and artists in Thailand. The medium these artists use is pencil, charcoal and graphite dust, and the resulting black and white compositions are quite stunning.

However, it was quite challenging to create a design for this site that was both interesting but didn’t distract. For instance, any color would pull the eyes away from the portraits, and it is these portraits that should be the center of attention.

When someone goes to a company’s web site, that site has between 2 and 3 seconds to tell the viewer what that company does. In this time, the user will scan the layout and images and generally read around 6-12 words. In designing Arist’ Bungalow, the eye initially goes to the only color on page, the company name, and then moves to the visual interest, the series of framed portraits in the left column (showing the product). The eye then jumps to the next visual, the buttons on the right hand side, but in the process, reads the words “Submit Photo”, and then reads the buttons, “Order” and “Portfolio”.

In those 2 seconds, the customer should get a good idea what the company does… even before they read the explanatory caption at the top of the page.

Another challenge is making the site complete, but still simple for most user’s to navigate, and in this case, the site only has 4 buttons on the front screen. Granted, each of these buttons will pull the user deeper into the site, but each page has an “Order Now” button, so that when the user is ready to buy, it is easy for them to get to that step.