Design Keywords that Inspire

As designers, we always keep our eyes open for inspiration. However, in today’s digital age, there’s so much out there that it can quickly become overwhelming when you’re trying to search for something.

In our website work, we’ve found that keeping a curated list of websites can help solve this problem. By associating our favorite sites with specific keywords, we’re able to organize our process, build our vision more effectively, and describe design elements more precisely. In this article, we’ll explore a few commonly used keywords and pair them with our favorite BentoBox sites!

Rustic

Charm, simplicity, and warmth with a relaxed and informal overall aesthetic

Woods Restaurant Mackinac

• Wood texture application
• Use of whitespace to give a relaxed and open feel
• Warm and earthy color scheme
• Other Keywords: Clean, warm and welcoming

Undici Restaurant

• Warm background texture
• The layout is simple and clean, avoiding overly modern or sleek design elements
• Application of vintage botanical illustration for a homely, earthy touch.
• Other Keywords: Warm and inviting

Modern

Use of high-quality images, interactive elements, and strong typography to convey sleekness and sophistication.

Bel-Aire Backyard

• Full-screen video on landing for an immersive experience
• Fun illustrative gifs
• Parallax effect for user engagement
• Other Keywords: Fun, bright and refined

Loft 22

• Bold typography
• Single-scroll website for a seamless and immersive user experience
• Dark color scheme for a sleek overall look
• Other Keywords: Dark, moody and bold

Written by Bella Ambrosio

Classic

Adjectives like ‘traditional’ or ‘retro’ often go hand-in-hand with classic sites.

Cecchis

• Cecchi’s is a rare gem that has both a modern and very retro feel.
• The imagery and red checkered footer help create a warm and welcoming vibe commonly present in more classic concepts.
• Overall a very simple feel, left-aligned text, and consistent borders.
• Other Keywords: Retro, Dark, Moody,

Urban Cove Seaport

• Consistent border use throughout. Thin gold line work mixed with even spacing creates balance.
• The bolder sans-serif font mixed with a very cozy feeling serif body font to support is quintessential and makes the site feel inviting.
• Despite the blue background, the gold text and use of burgundy throughout make the site feel warm and welcoming.
• Other Keywords: Upscale, Refined, Welcoming

Hip

A more modern feeling achieved with healthy whitespace and precise color application.

Talk Shop

• The use of padding and “white” space throughout makes each asset and design element really stand out.
• Bright colors that still feel modern with color blocking and patterns.
• The textures and illustrations feel bold and modern. The graphics and messaging on this site make the user feel like they are “part of the club.”
• Other Keywords: Bright, Colorful, Modern, Bold

Arriba Abajo

• A fun mix of bright and dark colors, heavy use of high contrast.
• Overlapping content and assets create layers and dimension
• The animation helps bring the site to life and really brings the layout to the next level by placing a focus on the site’s unique branding.
• Other Keywords: Bright, Bold, Fun, Warm

Written by Lindsey Robinson

Bright

An eye-catching design with light, high-value colors like yellow or a highly saturated and bold color palette.

East Hampton Kitchen

• A light color palette.
• A padded, open layout with a light background.
• Bright photos with no dimmed overlays.
• Other Keywords: Clean & Welcoming

Guac Daddy

• Bright, vivid colors mixed with a darker color for contrast.
• A bold, eye-catching color application.
• Light images, with background containers for hero text, so a dimmed overlay isn’t needed for contrast.
• Other Keywords: Bold & Fun

Warm

A cozy, intimate layout created using colors on the yellow, orange, and red sides of the color spectrum.

Yours Truly

• A warm color palette with red, brown, and gold colors.
• Rough textures for a cozy, rustic look.
• Darker images for a more intimate feel.
• Other Keywords: Rustic, Welcoming, & Textured

The Federal

• A warm, yellow and orange color palette with cooler colors mixed in for contrast.
• Casual and positive verbiage is used for a welcoming feel.
• Minimal negative space is used for a cozier layout.
• Other Keywords: Fun, Bold, & Inviting

Written by Chelsea Davis

Refined

Elegance and sophistication through simplicity and precision.

Yann Couvreur

• Increased letter spacing between characters to add an elegant look to the typography.
• Cohesive application of brand accent color that emphasizes specific content vs being utilized throughout large blocks of text.
• Border application seen throughout buttons, navigation elements and menu.
• Other Keywords: Soft, Bright & Modern.

Beck and Call

• Elegant animations that add an ease to the way content reveals itself.
• Thin and precise line work seen throughout elements such as the navigation.
• Simple color palette that is elevated by one accent color.
• Other Keywords: Dark & Modern.

Welcoming

A clean and intuitive layout that utilizes warm and inviting colors, and engaging visuals.

NoMad Diner

• A playful yet clean application of their brand illustrations, to emphasize the personality of the concept.
• A warm color palette utilizing an off white and coral tone.
• Verbiage of content presents a welcoming narrative for the user, inviting them to make a reservation after learning more about who NoMad Diner is.
• Other Keywords: Playful & Warm.

Rooftop Kitchen

• Scalloped edge navigation presents a softer approach to the design.
• Warm color palette which highlights the colors of the imagery.
• Playful additions of illustrations that add to the subtle engagements of navigation hovers.
• Other Keywords: Warm, Soft & Refined.

Written By Kayla Scheidel