handmade web en

“handmade web” is a calm, meditative, and immersive website for the light artist James Turrell. Following the motto “preventDefault()”, it breaks away from the norms of boring websites.

[breaking norms]
Logo top left. Navigation in the header. White background, clear grid structure. Every website looks the same flat, predictable, boring.

This project breaks exactly that norm. It’s a website that doesn’t feel like a template, but like a unique piece. Inspired by the motto preventDefault() (by Maximilian Kiepe), the anti-template design was born — something that cannot be built with page builders or themes, but must be written by hand. Handmade Web.

A deliberate break from habits. No standardized frame, but a new perspective on the medium itself.

[seeing how you see]
While I aimed to challenge visual habits through the website’s structure, James Turrell’s works do exactly the same — just on a different level. He doesn’t direct perception, he questions it.

For him, light is not illumination, but space. His works are not images to look at — they are experiences to be lived. Slowly. Meditatively. Quietly.

In a web world designed for speed and efficiency, his works form a counterpoint. The website embraces his approach without pushing itself forward.

Despite the “anti-template design,” it remains understated. It provides a framework that creates space, allowing his works to achieve their full impact.*

exerpt of a room on the website

[interface -> spaceface]
Turrell’s works do not exist on a flat surface — they are spaces through which one moves, where perception slowly unfolds. Translating this spatial experience into the digital realm is an essential part of the project.

The simplicity of translating the spatial experience digitally forces a focus on the essentials. No camera, no physical light simulation, no spectacular shaders — precisely through this, the space remains in the background.

The design approach: A web space that, despite its complexity and uniqueness, steps back to give more presence to what truly matters.