With over 1.8 billion websites out there today, we inevitably see a ton of that look almost identical, featuring that basic cookie-cutter design. While there’s a reason that these templates get used again and again, because they work for most use cases, it’s always so refreshing to see the ones with a truly original and unique design.

If you’re a web designer or someone who tells a designer what you want, take a look at these 5 stunning takes for some heavy inspiration;

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Lemonade Insurance: Giveback 2021

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Now out of all the possible niche’s, who would have thought that an insurance company would make this list,

I certainly didn’t.

But when you take a look at the ‘Giveback 2021’ Presentation you’ll see why it’s here.

What you see above is a super fresh take on visuals representing some pretty simple information. While keeping true to the Lemonade brand color palette, the designer created interactive scroll animations that flowed from stat to stat with custom imagery for each one.

Not only is the page really fun to scroll through, but it also makes the user focus on each way Lemonade gave back by only showing one statistic on the screen at a time.

The 2021 Lemonade Giveback

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Zoox

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Next on the list is from a startup called Zoox, fully autonomous and electric vehicles;

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Not only did the designer here nail the focus on the product from different angles with moving imagery and the seamless parallax effect, but they also did an outstanding job with the typography, element colors, and element shapes.

Notice how the type gives the whole website a futuristic feel and has just the right amount of roundness to stay true to what the Zoox vehicles look like.

But that gif I made above really does not do it justice, check out Zoox for yourself below and then get back over here to see some more!

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The future is for riders

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Sand Land Sleep

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When designing a website, accurately representing the purpose and goals of the organization should be prioritized over everything else.

And  the designer of the Sandland Sleep eCommerce store did exactly that.

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It’s not every day that you see an eCommerce store designed like this. The designer here did an exceptional job at reflecting exactly what Sandland sells.

My favorite part of this is the ‘ZZZ’ animation behind the reviews section on their homepage. Take a look at how the animation of the Z’s in the background, they look like deep and relaxing breaths. It’s perfect.

In addition to all that, take a look at the light pastel gradients used in the color palette that give the website a happily sedated feel. Not to mention their creative use of Sheep, an iconic animal for falling asleep.

Take a look at Sandland Sleep yourself Here

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Sometimes Always

Another amazing take on eCommerce is at Sometimes Always, an online wine boutique in Australia.

What I love about this one is the combination of a 70’s aesthetic with all the modern features and accessibility you expect from a website nowadays.

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And with my passion for good eCommerce practices, I love the super clear way they were able to visualize individual product information.

Take a look at the hand-drawn elements of each wine profile, not only is it a much more attractive way of showing flavor, the colors pair perfectly with the rest of the site;

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Take a look at Sometime Always Here

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Karst: Stone Paper

Last on this list, is one that all the writers here should love, an eCommerce website called Karst. They sell journals and notebooks made from stone instead of trees.

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Just take a look at the super cool animation featured at the top of the homepage, one of their notebooks transforming from just simple lines into the product that they’ve developed today.

Along with the perfect animations and renderings, the designers here also did an incredible job with portraying the mission of Karst and their products; sustainability, innovation & simplicity.

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Check out Karst Stonepaper Journals and Notebooks Here

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Taking a look at all of the above, it’s clear that Web Design is alive and well and there will always be new ways to tell the stories of brands and organizations.

Which of the websites did you like the best?

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About the Author

Aidan Morgan operates Create Captivate Close, a full-service agency that specializes in state-of-the-art Web Design, E-commerce & select marketing services.

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