Full-disclosure: This is seasonal-themed click-bait preying on your love of flannel, falling leaves and pie.
It’s fall. Calling it now. I realize the fall equinox isn’t quite here yet, but I’m just so excited for pumpkin spiced lattes, pumpkin candies and pumpkin spiced everythings.
So why not pumpkin-spiced websites? The web designs below combine the best qualities of fall (crisp and colorful) with the best qualities of pumpkin-things (rich, satisfying, lightly sweet, mostly orange).
Comment
So, this website is in French. But it doesn’t matter because the picture clearly tells me they provide audiovisual equipment and expertise. I immediately know they’ve done large-scale projects, maybe for universities or government agencies. Really shows you how careful featured image selection is critical for an effective design.
The style is crisp and modern. Much love for the bold sans-serif contrasted with a sylish serif for body copy. And the orangey-red gradient creeping in suggests either a harvest moon (YES FALL I LOVE IT) or a light leak cribbed from J.J. Abrams.
Cienne
What you can’t see in this screenshot is the cool use of background video. There’s a section of the homepage which highlights the unique fabrics used by this NYC fashion brand. There’s sweet video of a length of fabric in motion, moved by the wind or maybe billowing like a cape behind some fancy lady.
Also, notice the warm orange and cream branding. Paired with dusky photographs of models wearing the clothes, Cienne’s brand is approachable without losing its adventuresome edge. These folks are all about those weird body scarves, but wouldn’t turn down a Starbucks run if you texted them.
Wootten
Dang but if Wootten’s golden tones don’t remind me of afternoon light through the window of an old barn at an apple orchard where I’ve just enjoyed cinnamon donuts and hot apple cider.
But I kind of hate the featured image slider. It’s supposed to tell a story of hand-made leather goods infused with hard-working hipster tears. And the pictures are great, I’ll give them that. Just like those on the Comment website, they’re gorgeous and they immediately communicate what Wootten does. Thing is, there’s no call to action. Click on one of the slider images and it weirdly goes to their Instagram profile.
I would add a single, subtle line of text in the left corner that either makes it clear what happens when you click or says “Explore our process.”
Recipe for a Classic Fall Outfit:
- Wootten Leather Holster Camera Strap
- Camera (for pictures of leaves)
- Button-up shirt, maybe with a patch pocket
- Wootten Gordon Boot in Saddle Tan
- Whatever jeans you have
- Here, hold this pumpkin.
Yummly
Look at all this food! Need to pack on a fat layer before blizzard season? Get a Yummly account and start browsing their collection of recipes from all around the web. It’s like Pinterest, but specifically for recipes and with special features that format every recipe for easy reading and printing.
Yummly works like a social network, so all of the content is sourced from its users. They’ve done a great job of collecting all of that text and image content from the network and giving it a uniform look that feels inviting and fun.
CashierLive
Look at that call to action. Look at it. So big and bold. Slab-serif fonts and orange accent colors all making me look forward to Halloween. Notice how the bold headline is brief, but clever. Notice how the sub-head states the benefit of using their product with zero-cleverness and the bare minimum of words. I love it like I love corn-mazes, candy-corn and leaf blowers.
There’s just a touch of confusion on the tour buttons though. Why would anyone click Full Tour? How long is the Quick Tour? The full one must take ages. Unless they’re running some kind of test, I’d pare it down to the quick one.
Also, kudos on the main navigation that only shows the most important pages and information. They’ve got a ton more pages listed by name in a separate footer navigation. Perfectly reasonable compromise. New customers look for those top navigation items, while current customers and other non-sales type traffic know to look in the footer for more options.
See anything in these designs you like? Anything give you the urge to change your website with the changing season? If you’re tired of your current site or planning a change, make a list of sites you like and why you like them. Your web designer will find this a big help when you talk about design ideas.