typestorming
Our hearts are ticking
2010July 20
Gucci Timepieces is famous for marrying the fashion-forward eye of its parent house with an uncompromising view on engineering quality: under the attractive faces of their wares, tick precision mechanisms that are built to stand the test of time. Since wollzelle unveiled the first multi-award-winning new generation Gucci.com, back in 2006, we have worked in close collaboration with the brand to echo this dual commitment in their web presence.
Today, we are proud to unveil more details on the brand new site for Gucci Timepieces we launched on May 5, that takes our original design to the next step in immersive experiences and standards-compliance. By building upon rich JavaScript frameworks and leveraging the latest developments in HTML5 and CSS3, we have devised a site that intuitively delivers sound, video and data to a wide range of devices, from the office PC to the Apple iPad — and in eight languages to boot! While iPad users will appreciate using gestures to scroll through our endless gallery of watches, desk-bound visitors will appreciate the lightness and speed afforded to the site by our plugin-free architecture, CSS-based special effects and efficient image compression.
The site’s aesthetic is voluntarily subdued, and provides what we think is the perfect frame to the brand’s original designs. Wood, leather and precious metals, such as you would find in store, discretely frame the models, and the forgiving, loop-based navigation gently guides the user through the company’s timeless collections — pun intended. While seemingly similar to other wollzelle-designed Gucci properties, so as not to unsettle the visitor, this site brings some new features of its own, and has been optimised for the higher-resolution, wider screens that have recently become commonplace.
Under the site’s appealing façade beats a cutting-edge engine, that polls and arranges data on the fly for computers, iPads and smartphones, from a common pool of assets. Transparent geolocalisation helps users find stores effortlessly on a wide range of devices, while our own image-processing technologies, fluxiom and ImageGeisha, ensure illustrations are always crisp, clear, and correctly sized, without any manual intervention from the webmasters. In fact, the site was so cutting-edge, we had to “smuggle” iPads for testing from the United States to Austria, on the day they launched!
Because no company wants to mess around with code and proprietary applications, the site comes complete with a web-based backend for Gucci staff to manage store locations and report on events, as they happen. In addition to a long list of references, happenings and languages, which only keeps growing, this back-end intelligently puts over 4000 stores on the map!
We hope you take a few minutes to check out the site…
Easy, breezy, Gucci
2009April 22
Designing a breakthrough interactive experience for Gucci was one thing. Extending it with a deep overlay to celebrate the launch of a new collection was another. Refreshing Gucci’s suite of web sites to reflect the new spring-summer 2009 designs, all the while keeping the experience consistent and smooth for our long-term online audience, was a whole new ball game.
As Gucci introduces their spring collection, we are delighted to introduce the brand’s spring website.
Building upon the existing platform and designs we have developed for them over the past three years, it introduces fluid, translucent touches that make navigating from page to page and line to line easier than ever before.
Drawing inspiration from this season’s emphasis on chromatic leather, floral ambiances and its juicy, yet classy aesthetic, we have introduced whole new interfaces for the homepage, catalogues and ad campaigns, including a fresh collage layout to present multiple shots at a glance.
Our revamped video integration platform helps blend sound, text and motion further to create an experience that is not only entertaining and informative but, above all, immersive. (We’re especially thrilled about the new full screen mode!) Nobody switches modes and moods at the flip of a switch in real life. Instead, we transition from one emotion to the next, and it is great time web sites adapt to our natural behaviour.
Of course, despite this ever-increasing level of — standards-based! — technical and visual sophistication, our ultimate goal is to create an interactive experience that supports the Gucci brand, allowing users to just “dive in.” In fact, we feel the machinery that powers a site should be completely invisible to the untrained eye, and hope this latest iteration of Gucci.com raises the bar a little further.
We hope you enjoy the collection as much as we enjoyed designing the site, and will be looking forwards to hearing your comments.
featured in: Nuova Comunicazione
2008December 09
Does the name Chiodo mean something to you? Our faithful readers will remember wollzelle had the honor of being commissioned by Gucci earlier this year to lay out and deliver a comprehensive communication campaign around this season’s most remarkable watch.
Today, we are thrilled to report that Italian design magazine Il Giornale della Nuova Comunicazione is running a feature on our work in its latest issue (October 2008).
The project encompassed a dedicated overlay on Gucci.com, widgets for Mac and PC doubling as organizers, digital tokens and more.
Most thrilling of all, however, was the design and development of a specially crafted touch-screen based interactive totem, that some of you have seen in stores around the globe over the season. It was fun and exciting to dip our fingers in so many pies and see our vision for Chiodo unfold smoothly on so many supports.
Find out more in our previous blog posts about the Gucci Chiodo project and the about the Gucci Chiodo widgets. Of course, and as usual, we hope you enjoyed the widgets and displays, too.
Gucci Trunkshow Spring Summer 2009
2008November 28
If the fashion shows are the creative highlights of the couture world, the subsequent, and lesser-known, “trunk shows” signal the true launch of the collections. In an intimate setting, the designer’s best clients get an early look at his latest designs as well as a chance to pre-order the freshly introduced pieces.
Unfortunately, these events can also quickly become an exercise in frustration. Those who cannot attend find themselves unwillingly sitting on the sidelines while coveted items fly off the shelves, and those who do attend often find themselves hesitating between looks and alternatives.
Enter Gucci, and their desire to put a realistic, lifelike experience into the hands of each and every one of their best clients, be they on-the-spot or not, armed with a precise list of looks or a mere idea of their inspiration.
The solution to this problem turned out to be right down wollzelle’s alley.
By envisioning and developing an immersive online experience, putting videos, look cards and close-ups on a single page, we were able to bring all of Gucci’s select customers back in time, to the show itself. With all this knowledge in hand, they can easily phone in orders, even if they cannot attend the trunk show in person.
The precise referencing of all the elements displayed on the site makes collecting and processing orders a snap. The unique, mixed-media presentation of the collection ensures clients know exactly what it is they need — and what it is they want —, down to the minutest detail. By using just the right amount of visual cues, such as panning and fading, we were able to restrict and expand the amount of information displayed on-the-fly, seamlessly guiding the user in her quest for the right piece, all the while respecting Gucci’s polished, high-end, aesthetic.
We at wollzelle are honoured to have contributed to this piece of fashion history and helped spread a true fashion experience to the most far-flung corners of the globe. We hope you enjoy the site… and the collection!
Gucci timepieces e-catalogue
2008September 25
The least glamorous exercise in web design is also the most difficult to complete successfully. We are talking, of course, about the arduous task of transposing a print brochure into an electronic format, keeping its fundamental structure, all the while making it interactive and functional.
Why would one want to do that? Why would one want to do that? For many reasons, including the removal of time and distance barriers as new products are launched, not to mention reducing a campaign’s carbon footprint — thousands of copies of a glossy catalogue add up quickly. Keeping the structure of both the print and web editions similar will, then, allow clients, manufacturers and resellers to use the same set of references and facilitate communication between all the parties involved down the line.
When Gucci contacted us to do just that with the latest version of their Timepieces Catalogue, we knew we had to live up to the challenge. Indeed, this catalogue was something of a landmark issue, introducing the recently launched Chiodo line to the world.
The result? A custom presentation built around a Flash object that allows us to faithfully reproduce the print layout. Motion and effects, overlaid on the existing design, keep the catalogue fresh, interactive and surprising, highlighting the best features of every piece. An index allows users to see the entire collection at a glance, flipping directly to one page or another, and an info link replaces the pricing and “tech specs” insert that traditionally ships with the paper version of the catalogue.
We encourage you to take it for a spin. As always, we will look forwards to hearing your thoughts and comments.
Gucci Chiodo Watch Launch
2008June 27
Our latest client work was the animated experience devoted to the new Gucci Chiodo Collection. Chiodo was unveiled this April at Baselworld, the international watch fair. It was inspired by the iconic square-head nail employed by the luxury goods house since the Sixties.
This project aimed to support the launch of the new Chiodo watch through a mix of multiple media: classic vehicles and innovative on-line channels. This 360° communication approach involved multiple targets and the communication mix leveraged on the combined effort of channels as print media, on/off-line public relations, outdoor, in-store activities, dedicated section on gucci.com, on-line advertising, podcast and widgets.
Screendesign book
Next to the interactive overlay version we introduced for gucci.com we developed a special touch screen version for this beautiful Totem that was specially built for this case:
The touch screen totem
Touch screen Tower at Baselworld 2008
The aim was to get a smooth 360° view for the 3 lead styles of the collection and a natural movement – here is a preliminary video of the interaction, right from the wollzelle labs ;)
in-store animation
The web contents were utilized at store level too thanks to a digital totem enabling the customers to experience in-store the animation available on-line on www.gucci.com/chiodo,
The widgets
For the 3 lead styles we created a widget presented in an earlier post in our blog. On Apple the widget entered both the “Top 10” and the “Staff Picks”list.
Besides showing time, the Chiodo widget will offer a notepad and a personal organizer. The widget is available on Yahoo and Apple.
The internal widget
An internal widget was developed for all employees to have a global countdown to the launch. The nice side effect was that people who are not so technology affine could experience what a widget is and how it works, on the other hand it sometimes scared us to see how time flies during the project ;)
Wallpapers
Screensavers
The widget wallpapers and screensavers available for Mac and PC can be downloaded at www.gucci.com/chiodo in the download section.
Banner Campaign
We did over 90 different banners and site takeovers for international pages to announce the new Chiodo Collection, amongst others for New York Times, International Herald Tribune or MSN Taiwan. This is a screenshot of the femina.ch takover:
sidenote: a lot of sites should really work on their specifications they hand out, it was a real challenge from time to time. Would be a great service idea to unify this information in a web 2.0 way. Sometimes it felt like the blind leading the blind …
A balanced mix of print and web editorials enabling to announce the new watch and this innovative launch initiative, e.g. butterbloom or dazed digital.
It was one of the most exciting projects because it involved so many different media and we really enjoy multi-disciplinary design projects.
Gucci's Chiodo Watch Widget
2008May 01
For the new Chiodo Watch introduced today by Gucci we created a widget that allows you to choose from the 3 lead styles of this new collection of striking timepieces to embellish your dashboard. The widget that tells time, displays notes and sets alarm.
We’re proud to announce that the widget is the featured download today on Apple.com
- Download Gucci Chiodo Yahoo Widget (Get Yahoo Widgets here)
- Download Gucci Chiodo Dashboard Widget
more updates about the whole project soon …
gucci.com new features
2008February 07
We are proud to announce the launch of a major update for Gucci.com we were working on together with the Gucci eBusiness Team the last couple of months.
The website features the Spring Summer 08 collection and with it introducing the new ready-to-wear section.
Also fresh: A lot of interface enhancements like the variation slider, variation tooltips or the new variations panel and a big bunch of under the hood improvements. Enough. The best way to explore is to head over to Gucci.com. Enjoy!
Behind the scenes
It’s a long way from this … (concept drawings by christina)
… to this … (new ready-to-wear panel)
… or this … (the new variations panel)
… you have to do a lot of this … (our office whiteboard)
… and even kill some of this. Life can be a bitch ;)
Gucci.com gets two W3 awards
2007October 19
The Gucci eBusiness Team and the wollzelle design team are pleased to announce that Gucci.com today was honored by the International Academy of the Visual Arts with two W3 awards:
Gucci.com wins Best in Show for structure and navigation and Gold in shopping.
Gucci.com is a Webby Award finalist
2007April 10
wollzelle is pleased to announce that the website we designed for Gucci is nominated for the 11th Webby Awards. This year the Webby Awards chose from a field of 8,000 websites so we are proud to have made the final 5 for the category Best Visual Design – Function. The award show is on June 5 in NYC. So cross your fingers everyone!
Hailed as the “Oscars of the Internet” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, Interactive Advertising, Online Film & Video, and Mobile Websites.
The awards are judged by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, a global organization that includes David Bowie, Harvey Weinstein, Arianna Huffington, Matt Groening, Jamie Oliver, Internet inventor Vinton Cerf, and RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser.
People’s Voice. Vote For Us!
Vote for gucci.com over at the Webby People’s Voice site and show your support!
gucci.com rules in Japan
2007January 17
Two months after we launched the design refresh, gucci.com achieved the third place at the Most Impressive Website 2006 Award from Web Designing a Tokyo based magazine.
Read more: Web Designing – PDF, 732 KB
Gucci.com design refresh
2006December 12
3 months ago we launched our first work for Gucci and today we are proud to present the second project for the legendary Italian fashion house, synonymous with design innovation and worldly glamour: the design refresh.
In September 2006 we started working together with the Gucci e-business team on the “design refresh” project, where we created a new and brighter visual experience for Gucci.com. The new design is influenced by Frida Giannini’s exclusive fashion creations and the materials and design language of the new store concept that premiered at the Gucci Ginza flagship store.
The web site, including the new Japanese version, launched right on time with the Gucci Ginza flagship store opening party in Tokyo, on November 3, 2006.
Gucci.com: redefining online experiences
2006August 21
Together with the Worldwide e-Business team at Gucci, wollzelle created a new and unique online experience for www.gucci.com. We’ve been working with Gucci for the last two months to make this happen and it’s great to finally be able to share it with the world.
The new website debuts the german and french online stores as well as a whole new shopping experience. With no extraneous material or distraction, the design concentrates on the brand and it’s luxury products. The horizontal design provides an elegant way to explore the variety of products at a glance, while the interaction design emphazises the shopping experience without distraction.
wollzelle provided us the ability to implement a vision of luxury online shopping that we have been working towards for a number of years. They are imaginative problem solvers, technical magicians, creative designers, and exceptional partners.
Matt Marcus, Worldwide Director e-Business, Gucci
The site uses the technology developed by wollzelle with the open source script.aculo.us library (extracted from our digital asset management fluxiom) to achieve its seemless interactive user experience without using proprietary browser plug-ins—with the user never noticing what’s going on under the wraps. It just works.
We’ve been thrilled to see the level of interest Gucci has taken to break out from the flash based fashion sites and take the next step in continuing their industry leading position in online retailing.
Thanks so much to Matt Marcus (Worldwide Director, e-Business), Phil Vasilevski (Senior Developer) and the whole team.
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