Web Experiments and Design

Web design has been growing by leaps and bounds. Every year the processing power available makes it possible to create some really incredible experiences on the web. With full 3D rendering, live video feeds, augmented/virtual reality, and everything in-between there is a vast array of tools available to creating truly enhanced experiences. Here are some examples of truly innovative UX and UI Design that are sure to inspire your own projects.

Draw World

Draw World is an AI experiment that allows you to sketch ideas that you would like to add to the 3D digital world contained within the site itself. Every drawing is analyzed by the site using Quick Draw to populate a list of generic “guesses” at what your drawing is. Quick Draw uses a neural network to identify drawings by learning similarities in the way people draw them. You can even use the objects created by your drawings to play a game. The UI is very simplistic and features constantly animating gradients for the frames and elements on the page which add to the overall light, fun, and creative feeling of the whole project.

Pottermore Hogwarts

The Wizarding World of the Harry Potter books is an undeniable cultural juggernaut. The magic of the Harry Potter universe finds its way to the web in a beautifully rendered 3D exploration of the Hogwarts school’s grounds. With the addition of music and a sweeping camera animation that is reminiscent of flying on a broomstick, the website captures the wonder of the school’s atmosphere well. The interactable elements are tracked by the UI, a clever way to add interest to the sight as well and guide the users to delve deeper.

Within weeks of posting this there was a change to the pottermore/wizardingworld website structure. I’m confident this content exists SOMEWHERE, but have been unable to locate it. For now, here is the Awwwards Site of the Day page where you can sample some of the neat features this site had to offer.

Spire

A website that is all about data might sound boring but it’s not. Spire is a team of scientists and entrepreneurs that are placing nanosatellites into low Earth orbit so they can collect data that can be used to help track various sea, air, and land craft better. They also collect meteorological data for a better weather prediction and tracking. Very heady stuff. The UI design picks up on that theme wonderfully and does a great job presenting data in digestible chunks. Combined with some very subtle animations and straightforward layout they put their identity on display perfectly. It looks like a website straight out of the future.

These are all examples of rather intense explorations of what is possible on the web. A lot of the tools on display here are likely not very practical for your average website. However, they all do a great job of showing how utilizing those tools appropriately can elevate an experience to something memorable that people will want to come back to. Which should be a goal of any website. Use sites like this for inspiration; to view your own website from a different perspective, to make it more interesting and engaging.