12 Examples Where Web Design Meets Contemporary Art

A website can be much more than a showcase of your work. It can be a work of art in itself. When this is accomplished, extraordinary things can happen.

In this selection, we have uncovered websites that blur the lines between a practical, presentation-oriented website and the art they offer and integrate with art in terms of colouring, innovation, interaction, style and topics.

Here are our 12 picks, enjoy!

1. Next Level Fairs

For our first example, we chose Next Level Fairspresentation By Russian design company and collective Geex Arts. The company chose the long-scroll site structure to showcase some of its approaches to web design for galleries, museums, and art collections. The combination of fun layouts, color and typography choices, subtle effects like parallax, and a variety of interactive experiences create a healthy dose of whimsy, but it never outshines the artwork itself. In this way, a collective functional presentation that successfully blends art history with modern web approach.

2. Art4GlobalGoals

Our next example is #art4globalgoals, managed not only to combine artistic ideas with the web, but also to combine them into a single whole. we can see here How can the web as a platform be used as a gallery space for this (web)site-specific art?so to speak.

The interactive exhibition is divided into 17 units, specifically “17 global goals for a better world by 2030,” as defined by world leaders at the 2015 United Nations General Assembly session. The artist hints at each of the goals that the visitor must set, such as “No Poverty”, “Zero Hunger” and “Gender Equality”, with reference to the nature of the visitor – to imitate brushstrokes using the mouse – through an interactive approach. the work of art itself.

3. Frans Hals Museum

The main collection of the collection Frans Hals Museum It consists of artworks of the famous 17th century artist who gave the museum its name. The museum website is an example that proves this. presentation can be entertaining, not necessarily directly related to the content itself. Here we see a palette that remains consistent throughout the entire product experience. Combined with photography, typography and animation, it creates the character and mood of the website and a truly unique user experience.

4. Man-made Disaster

man-made disaster It is an exciting online group exhibition of 30 women and non-binary artists. Feminist at its core, the exhibition is witty and witty, but there is also a certain anger, sadness and hope, as the artists show. the way patriarchy is harmful not only for culture but also for the environment. The website itself also has a brutalist tone, which is a reasonable choice given that the exhibition features a large number of artists with completely different sensibilities.

5. Viennese Modernism

Viennese Modernism is a website created in honor of the 100th anniversary of the death of four great Viennese artists – Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Otto Wagner and Koloman Moser. The design and atmosphere are inspired by the famous Wiener Werkstätte (Vienna Atelier), which brings together artists working in architecture, design, fashion, furniture, fine and applied arts, and is characterized by a minimalist and spacious layout.

6. Studio Job

heat studio work It is characterized by a distinctive style that represents a combination of classical, popular and contemporary design, visual art and sculpture. Artists own their works high end kitsch, and the website enforces that definition pretty closely. Brutal approach, strong color palette, bold typography, animation, silly cursors and icons are used synergistically with photography to create a whole that fully reflects the entire opus of Studio Job.

7. Mariano Pascual

Website of the artist, illustrator and designer Mariano Pascual It is a work of art in itself, with the same unique poetics that can be seen in all of Pascual’s works. Acting, ironic interpretation of shapes and vibrant colors are the main features of Argentine art. Blending abstract and figurative elements with geometric and organic structures, the artist creates scenes that escape reality.

The website is an interactive, whimsical portal to his world that mimics a workspace with a full application dock at the bottom of the screen, in this case the “Mariano Pascual Operating System”. The website also features a toolbar, a real-time clock, and a non-real-time battery, all designed in the artist’s unique style.

The main asset of this website is its instant effect and speed of communication. The website also allows visitors to change the page background, set it to full screen, adjust brightness, zoom, etc. There is a “settings tool” they can use for allowing visitors to give their own meaning to the website.

8. Shantel Martin

Shantel Martin an artist best known for her cartoon-like black and white linear illustrations filled with creatures, characters and messages. his business bridges the gap between fine arts and commercialism and instantly recognizable. The website’s palette is achromatic, the fonts are bold, and the entire site is both complex and fun, just like Martin’s art. The website structure is essentially a drawing on which the artist lies next to the text, as words are always present in the art. In this case, the text includes standard web terms such as: Work, News, information, Shop. There’s even a small Easter egg – word Playwhen clicked, the user adjusts the dynamics of the background animation, making it stronger, slower, etc. allows it to. the entire website is inspired by the famous photo of Keith Haring (Martin’s biggest inspiration) taken by Annie Leibovitz..

9. Blue

Street artist blue His murals often deal with contemporary political events, and like many street artists, he begins his creative process by sketching ideas on a piece of paper. Therefore, decision making a website designed like a real sketchbook it still makes sense, although unusual. Here you will find all the information about the artist, his works, news, shop and videos. The handwritten texts, color choices, and architecture of the website evoke a sense of intimacy, as if we were navigating one of his sketchbooks.

10. Anish Kappor

Just like his art Anish Kappor‘s website fresh, simple and conceptually crafty. Consisting of one line after another of text and literally nothing else, the website is initially difficult to understand. It is only when we hover or click on a text that we discover whether the whole thing is a work of art, a thought experiment, a link or a basic text. The interface, which looks confusing with its stubborn minimalism, but soon presents itself to the visitor and the whole idea becomes clear as if it were day. a game on simplicity and clarity.

11. Henry Hargreaves

Henry Hargreaves An artist and photographer with a particular interest in food. one of his most famous pieces No Secondsa project consisting photos of death row inmates’ last meal before execution. After exposing ourselves to his art, we find ourselves meditating on the apparent paradox of overconsumption we all live in. The photo-filled website itself highlights it. overconsumption phenomenon moreover, the use of the grid and the distribution of the different pieces are a perfect reflection of the artist’s ideas.

12. Wim Delvoye

Website of the neo-conceptual multimedia artist Wim Delvoye a big Sim City reference. “Wim City” invites the visitor to explore the portfolio as well as explore the city. By clicking on a cathedral, farm, or football field, you view related pieces of the artist’s work that are closely related to the buildings that represent them. The website is a stunning mix of: high eyebrow and low eyebrow aestheticsTechnology and art that presents Delvoye’s unique worldview.

final thoughts

The power of web design lies in the fact that: there is so much to do with it. Going beyond the purely functional or informative nature of a website, entering the realm of pure art, and creating a valuable fusion of the two media – this is where the real creative magic happens. Let these 12 great websites be your inspiration. push one’s own limits and exploring the potential of the web.