Critical Review
- Feb 3
- 11 min read
Let's talk about web design.
In this review I chose to expand my previous critical review which focused on illustration in branding. This time I am progressing it by looking closely at illustration in web design, but more specifically, illustrated narrative in web design and how I think this can bring a positive impact for brands that wish to survive the noise.
In assignment 3 I chose to set my own brief as an extension to a website I had built for the brand I work on, Echo. Through research and experimenting with designing a section of the website that would feel more of an interactive area, I came to appreciate the power of websites as a canvas for telling stories, or pushing branding to a new level that feels human. This became the thesis of my essay, exploring the benefits of building an online world that can fully engage with your audience.
I feel as though I could easily waffle on about this topic as it is really something I am very much inspired by at the moment. Learning to creating these kind of websites that feel immersive is something I aim to do, wishing I could have all the time in the world to dive into it!
Here is a downloadable file of the review:
Which can also be read below:
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How are narrative and illustration in web design reshaping user experience in an era defined by standardisation and automation? Extending this inquiry further, could video games be influencing the rise of story-centred, experiential approaches to web design? Or is nostalgia playing a hand?
As users grow increasingly accustomed to immersive, choice-driven interactions within gaming environments, are we witnessing a broader cultural shift in which web design may need to adopt similar UX strategies to maintain engagement and authenticity?
Are we ready to embrace web design as a new medium to tell stories?
For this review, I deep dive into the world wide web and explore the understated relationship of visual storytelling in web design, and why we should be turning our hand to web tools as an art medium for creating compelling and immersive online experiences.
Firstly, storytelling is at the heart of human existence. Sharing stories and listening to them is something we are inherently drawn to. It is through stories that we come to learn more about the world, and to understand the human experience and existence; it is the stories that educate us, that inspire us, that make us. So, it is no wonder narrative can be found in almost everything we do and create. Web design is no exception. For brands, narrative is not only reserved for marketing, but it’s also what builds an emotional bond and trust with the audience. In a digital world that is overwhelming and overstimulating, finding websites that are designed with visual narrative at the centre is what captures our attention and holds it.
In recent years, I’ve come to recognise (and deeply appreciate) the full potential of creating illustrated narratives and immersive experiences on the web. As an avid fan of the website awwwards.com, I have found myself completely in awe with the imagination for web design and seeing the amazing, unlimited potential at our disposal. I am now left yearning to create something far deeper than the standard commerce or stripped-down portfolio experience. To me, this new and exciting way to approach web design feels a little reminiscent of the early internet, where the experimental and curious creativity thrived on learning something new and pushing its boundaries beyond the intended use, leading to something unique, playful, and interesting.
“My own interest in new media has been focused on the internet and its potential as a tool and a space for art making. Art has always been bound up with technology, and artists have always been among the first to adopt new technologies as they emerge. We monkey around with new technologies in an effort to see what they can do, to make them do things engineers never intended, to understand what they might mean, to reflect on their efforts, to push them beyond their limits, to break them.”
Templated interfaces, algorithmic recommendations, and AI-generated layouts have streamlined usability in modern web experiences, stripping the magic of what the early web had thrived on; individuality (albeit a little dysfunctional!). Lacking formal design standards, early websites often reflected the personalities and imaginations of their creators, they were colourful, inconsistent, and in most cases - chaotic. They were, indeed, deeply human. Since the launch of E-commerce in the mid 90’s, the internet quickly became a secure and convenient way to shop. Stripped of the chaos and transformed into structured grids and hierarchy. In the same way that brick and mortar shops (think Zara, other similar high street shops, and even McDonalds would make a good example!) stripped away decoration, colour and overall character to create a shell that is designed to simply serve you, rather than emotionally connect with you - the internet, more often than not, reflects the same aesthetics.
Most websites no longer reflect the human touch at all, in fact, they became the complete opposite. Aiming for optimisation and precision in navigating people to buy rather than explore.
Layouts, callouts, buttons, colours and more, were designed around customer behaviour. Understanding that the use of certain colours of buttons and their placements would convert to sales. This design style led by big companies became guidelines that would be followed by almost all online retailers. Thus, marking the start of standardisation within the web experience.
Platforms such as Squarespace and Wix have made it incredibly easy for anyone to build a website without knowing how to code, something I greatly appreciate as a designer who had always saw code as another language I couldn’t grasp. While they do add largely to the ongoing chain of standardisation and automation through templates that can be quickly and conveniently populated with content, these platforms have also greatly evolved in recent years to offer flexible, powerful tools that actively encourage creativity and individuality! And best of all, they are free to use!
What was once reserved for skilled coders is now accessible to everyone, giving you the freedom to fully realise your creative vision. This shift signals the beginning of a new era in web. It brings back creativity, personality and a playfulness in the design, whilst pulling functionality, usability, and framework of the modern web. The internet today is beginning to feel less like a medium for information or commerce, but also a dynamic, interactive space where users engage with rich, immersive experiences. What I love most is that artists are now welcome back into the space to really “monkey around” with designing website that visually communicate their ideas and identity.
“The visual is the one that the audience reacts to first or more immediately and will likewise retain. Psychologist Albert Mehrabian demonstrated that 93% of communication is nonverbal. Research at 3M Corporation concluded that we process visuals 60,000 times faster than text. Further studies find that the human brain deciphers image elements simultaneously, while language is decoded in a linear, sequential manner taking more time to process.” [1]
Against the backdrop of accelerating automation and standardisation, where grids, hierarchy, adverts, and predictability has become the language of websites, narrative and illustration function are acts of re-humanisation. They bring warmth, subjectivity, and texture to a digital environment increasingly defined by optimisation. By reintroducing story, character, and aesthetic individuality, designers are resisting standardisation and reclaiming the web as a cultural and creative medium. With illustration, animation, scrolling effects, hover interactions, responsive behaviours, and so much more built into the platform, creating a website has become the new exciting blank canvas, a potential interactive book, or an immersive experience that can transport the user. It has the power to reimagine the way we digest and retain information.
What is unique about websites, is that they allow for illustration, images, text, video and animation to coexist together, with sound effects and music creating the emotion that weaves each element together. You are essentially designing the stage to a full production (maybe a pantomime with audience interaction); lighting, costume, script, soundtrack and the performance, and you get to control all of it. It’s full of possibility in what can be created, and it can spread across multiple devices, allowing you to have a direct relationship with your audience whenever and wherever. If we must exist digitally, wouldn’t creating our own worlds be far more interesting and rewarding?
“What if your website didn’t just show your past work, but actually was the
I recently came across Artist and 3D designer, Hallie Tut, through Wix Instagram, where she shared elements of her website built using Wix and the process in making it. In this video she begins by saying the above quote. It immediately caught my attention as something that aligned with what I wanted to communicate in this review. Whilst my focus is on creating illustrated stories in websites, the broader picture would be to think of the website as the work. The quote gives retrospect to what we’ve long accepted as function over imagination. It brings pause to your disciplined concept of web design that “fits in” and provokes you to think beyond the standards. Is web the new performance art?
In Assignment 3 I explored Bored Ape Yacht Club, (list others) as part of my research in websites that integrated illustration seamlessly within the design to create interactive worlds. To further this, I’m interested in how those interactive worlds build narrative and act as a new medium in which allows us to express our vision and engage with the audience through an immersive experience. It allows us to go direct to the audience, build a relationship and connect with them on a deeper level.
But what can Narrative mean in this context, how does this look in web? Narrative in design can come in many guises.
In narrative led web interfaces, scrolling becomes storytelling. Parallax effects, transitions, and micro-animations simulate pacing. Music or sound effects brings emotion; content unfolds like a full sensory, cinematic sequence rather than a static hierarchy. This is why it feels like the optimum time to build narratives in web design, as each click, scroll, and transition creates interactive opportunities for the audience, which leads to a lasting impression, higher engagement, and more.
Web projects like The Boat (https://www.sbs.com.au/theboat/) are a great example of using narrative and motion to transform reading into experience. The illustrated digital novel, depicting a Vietnamese refugee’s journey, fuses text, animation, and sound so that scrolling mimic’s emotional tension. The story unfolds with beautifully designed effects that seamlessly navigate you through the brutally honest of not so calm waters and reality of escaping as content to be consumed but as an environment to be felt. Each effect rolling into another, allowing us to not only experience the brutal journey, but feel the weight of the story through performance. Above this, the layout of the website offers more than just a scrolling interaction,
character development can be uncovered through “side quests, meaning there are click through actions that take you off the main story and into a mini character narrative allowing you to create a deeper understanding and almost build a relationship with the characters.
Websites that take scrolling into a whole new experience show the power of these tools to communicate narrative through visual interactions. Examples of this would be https://buythebunker.com/ and a more recent discovery; https://sleep-well-creatives.com/ by Victor Work. Both works appear very different, yet at the core foundation you will see that the interactions are based on the same logistics. Through scrolling and the occasional call to action, both websites create a unique experience, one of which is playful and humorous, the second is a calm and dreamy. What connects these websites is the use of illustration and animation to inform the audience.
Another area in web that I feel to be a worthy contribution in this discussion, and a potential influence to modern websites, is online games. Website gaming has been around since the late 90’s, offering free to play games that are accessed through browser. The flash era of 1999 to 2010, transformed this into a minefield of games, bringing websites such as miniclip.com to the forefront. These earlier games had a profound influence on mobile games that we know of today, paving the way for free to play experiences that can be accessed online, my favourite (and still one I revisit today) is Heli Attack 2. Since Adobe officially discontinued Flash in 2021, their focus became directed towards new web technologies like HTML5, JavaScript, and
“HTML5, in particular, revolutionized browser gaming by providing a standardized way to create multimedia-rich applications without relying on plugins. Combined with JavaScript and WebGL, developers could now build sophisticated, high-performance games that worked seamlessly across devices and browsers.”
Combining the history and evolution of flash browser game to mobile games, and the technology behind the deeply complex and story rich gaming on console, user behaviour and engagement is something to learn from when looking at web. Whilst it may not be mainstream, designers are creating online experiences that are influenced by these. The first example I have discovered is Messenger by Abeto who specialises in crafting interactive real time experiences https://messenger.abeto.co/ With a tagline “It’s a small planet, but someone’s gotta make the deliveries” Messenger sees you enter a peaceful world with a gorgeous art style and beautiful soundtrack that sets the calm pace of the game. Holding down the mousepad you can navigate your character around the world exploring each section, meeting NCPs that will ask you to deliver a parcel to someone else located in a different part of the world. The website has a console game like quality to it, something that could easily become popular for cosy gamers on the likes of the Nintendo Switch, demonstrating how technology has significantly evolved, allowing designers and developers to push boundaries within web, shifting away from consumption toward participation.
When discussing gaming as an influence on web design and the impact on audience behaviour towards attention and interaction. I not only want to address websites that are games like Messenger, but more how those game-like interfaces and principles can blend within the web experiences. Websites such as Bruno Simon’s 3D portfolio embody this principle. With a game like interface, visitors navigate his site by driving a toy car through a playful, interactive world where each section reveals a different part of his story and portfolio. The act of exploration becomes the narrative itself. This example perfectly demonstrates how successful UI and UX in website can emotionally impact the users. Bruno’s website feels open world, giving freedom to the audience to explore anywhere and everywhere, transforming his audience from mere passive readers into active participants that can engage with his work in a new and exciting way. This concept reinforces the quote of Hallie Tut where the website is the work.
Whilst games like Fortnite might have already caused a negative shift in the way games are being developed for the future (where game progression may solely depend on microtransactions or certain features being locked behind a paywall), the concept and principles could work well within web, especially as a brand that sells product. What makes Fortnite interesting is not the presence of these purchases in game, but how seamlessly they are integrated into the player experience. There is no overt sales pitch; instead, every aspect of the interface subtly invites participation.
The design blurs the line between playing and purchasing, replacing persuasion with immersion. Players are encouraged to express identity, celebrate achievement, and participate in ongoing cultural moments. This, I believe, is where brands can and should be influenced by games. Learning how to create a culture that can engage with their audience, encourage their audience to be part of something meaningful through an interactive online experience with transactions feeling like rewards, and how the use of illustration and narrative can be the key to unlock this.
Whilst it is of course important to priorities a website that functions affectively for your brand and audience, I believe the art is within deepening the relationship with your audience. By knowing who your audience is and what makes them engage, creating an online world that understands them on a deeper level could be what keeps your audience with you on your journey and playing an active role. Using illustrated narrative in your website could be the key to pushing your brand further, the bridge that connects you to your audience. It has the power to transform users from passive readers into participants, creating lasting impressionable memories that are emotional and engaging. Whether it’s telling your brand story, showcasing a timeline, or finding ways to convert engagement into sales, narrative structures achieve this by making usability not just intuitive, but emotionally resonant, guiding users through experiences that feel authored, alive, and human.
design/
https://sosmarketing.uk/the-impact-of-visual-storytelling-in-web-design/ - accessed 19/11/25
narrative/ - Accessed 19/11/25
accessed 19/11/25
https://www.corsto.co.uk/seo/web-design-as-storytelling-crafting-narratives-that-captivate-audiences/ – accessed 19/11/25
https://sleep-well-creatives.com/ - Accessed 18/12/25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwr4AIpvQ5o – Accessed 3/02/26
