In the realm of web design, rules are as abundant as they are crucial. Just as in architecture and other practical art forms, those rules are vital to making a website that’s both functional as well as attractive.
But Rolly Robínson, the artist behind the jewelry company Isshī, has never been one for rules. “If there’s a rule set in place, then I’m definitely breaking it,” says Rolly. On the Isshī website homepage, there isn’t a color palette. There isn’t a grid. There isn’t even any information.
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And yet, much like other wonderlands, this website thrives on chaos and successfully subverts reality. Scroll through the homepage, and you’ll see what I mean. With the Isshī brand name turned 90 degrees and frozen dead-center, it seems to dive down the rabbit hole, passing distorted doodles, glints of golden earrings and the shimmer of pearls.
Look closely, and you’ll notice bits of scattered text that whisper invitations (“come i n s i d e”) and mysterious greetings (“welcome to t h e issh ī u n i v erse”). “The layout is like you dumped a toy box on the floor,” says Rolly.
With this organic vision, it was important for the artist to have plenty of room to play. “It was really important for me to be able to drag-and-drop, import and create a layout without needing to do any coding,” Rolly explains. “I really fell in love with Wix. It’s really easy for me to make my website look how I want.”
Look for little ways to add flair
It isn’t just the artifacts on the page that create this immersive, ethereal effect—it’s also the Wix website animations Rolly applies to them. “I was pleasantly surprised to discover animations as one of Wix’s functionalities,” says Rolly, who has designed GIFs and animated collages from scratch in the past. “It’s nice to just pull up a still photo and change a setting to make it move around.”
The designs on her site fade in, drift, float up and spin. “I want people to feel like they're being sucked in,” Rolly explains. “I want it to feel like a video game.”
Treat navigation as an experience
Although Isshī’s navigation system doesn’t necessarily break any rules, it is certainly unconventional. In addition to the “shop” and “custom” page links in the homepage collage, the artist’s website has a hamburger button that rolls out a sidebar with links to every page. “I wanted it to feel like a choose-your-own-adventure thing,” explains Rolly. “It’s like Alice in Wonderland. You never know what's around the corner.”
Give your creations room to breathe
Somehow, the effect of the site’s unrestrained, overflowing nature isn’t jarring or overwhelming—it’s oddly soothing. Rolly attributes this to the white website background. It makes the space around the little treasures breathe. “I just love a lot of white space because it allows the artwork to speak for itself,” Rolly explains. “[A white background] is always current and never goes out of style.”
Prioritize user experience
It helps that Rolly reins in her imagination when it comes to user experience. “I wanted the shop itself to be pretty streamlined and simple and easy,” says Rolly. This philosophy is evident in the layout of the shopping pages, which feature grids of large, rectangular frames with soft, rounded edges.
The product pages have an even more minimalistic website design, with generous white space ensuring that the focus remains solely on the product. Additional details are neatly tucked away in collapsible text boxes, preventing any unnecessary clutter on the page.
Experiment with product staging
What happens inside each frame is anything but simple—on the contrary, every product photo is thoughtfully styled and shot. “When you see the product living in this space that we created for it, it just ties it all together and you get so much more of a sense of the brand ethos and it's more fun,” says Rolly. “Something as simple as crinkled paper can bring in a sense of texture and finish the look.”
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Put mobile first
Rolly knows that thinking outside of the box isn’t as much of an option when the box is as small as your hand. On mobile, functionality reigns supreme over aesthetics.
“The design doesn’t convert to mobile so you have to move it around and think more vertically,” Rolly adds. “There are some elements you can’t incorporate because they don’t translate on mobile. It got to the point where, any time I have to make adjustments to the site, I have to design it for mobile first.”
Extend the experience past the website
Ensuring that the brand experience doesn’t end when Isshī customers check out gives them a strong incentive to return. “The whole Isshī universe is integrated, so when you purchase Isshī, you get this beautiful piece of jewelry in a gorgeous box that matches the website,” says Rolly.
This seamless blend of the online shopping experience with the physical unboxing moment makes each customer's journey with Isshī both memorable and engaging. It's this thoughtful continuity that strengthens the brand's identity and deepens the values it embodies.
Provide attentive customer service
The Isshī customer service experience further supports this continuity. If you reach out through the contact page or custom page, you’ll soon find yourself talking to the artist. Rolly uses Wix’s App to keep in touch.
“I’ve grown to really like [Wix’s App] because I can do the things that I need to do on the fly on my phone when I don’t have access to my computer, especially in terms of client relations,” Rolly explains. Rolly also uses the app to create coupons and manage inventory, which keeps the site up-to-date at all times.
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Trust your vision
At the end of the day, what makes the digital Isshī universe function despite its lawlessness is that the artist fully made it her own. “Being an artist and being my biggest fan too, I always trust my vision because I'm doing everything myself,” says Rolly. “Again, I’m very irreverent in terms of rules, and I go against the grain when it comes to design. It has to make sense and be unique to me.”
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