CULTIVATION
A main goal for any site is to engage the visitor. Usually this is accomplished with varying combinations of approachable design paired with a user-friendly experience. What does one do though if the heart of a story, the main draw of a site, is mysterious and elusive? That was the case with jonathancarroll.com.
Anyone familiar with the hyper-fiction author’s work knows that once you pick up his books, your will encounter the strange if not menacingly unfamiliar. It’s exactly this quality that has defined his work and garnered him a very dedicated fan-base.
The challenge here was to create a site the spoke to his loyal fan-base, but would also entice new visitors. To do this I had to create an environment that was both mysterious and yet totally accessible. The only theme that came to mind was alchemy. Looking at those cryptic - and often times unsettling - diagrams executed with such patient precision, one feels like there is something powerful, perhaps even magical, to be unlocked. Short of wanting to creep people out, the design is peppered with subtle unsettling details. To avoid being heavy handed, all these details are balanced with a very rigid grid based structure the imbues the design with a sense of order and also invites those unfamiliar with his work to quickly explore a vision that spans thousands of pages of darkly tempting tales.
