Full bleed. Endless scroll. Conversational interfaces and brutalism. Forms and trends of website design — ever-changing. Twenty-five years from now, the look and feel of our online spaces may well be unrecognizable. But I’d like to think that some things will stay the same.

I’m currently immersed a project that is not only an expression of current work, but also will serve as archives — and eventually, legacy. How to design so that the online identity flows smoothly with the current, yet is timeless?

A few things I’m considering:

First, an artist’s works and presence should drive the aesthetic. Not the other way around. While making decisions, I’ll wonder: Does experiencing this website design feel similar to being with the person and their music? Their art? Their being? The goal: To bypass the capriciousness of trends and time!

Second, basic principles of design and written expression apply, no matter who’s the audience/participant - ease of navigation, skillful use of negative space, and sincerity of tone are a few time-honored principles of good craft. Simple adjustments can make a website design accessible to every generation.

Third, transcendent qualities radiate through the ages, and a beautiful, functional website design can express these transcendentals in compelling ways. Take a look at this site, and this one. They both rest on sophisticated platforms (Squarespace and Drupal), and carry the DNA of their subjects. Yet they also point to something beyond themselves.

I dream of sites being platforms for pilgrimage into actual, visceral encounters with creators and their legacies. Not simply online islands of promotion. May this ever be in mind and heart.