03Bioartist and futurist · Brand and website · Art direction, structure, build
Branding an artist the Smithsonian collects.
Amy Karle’s work is shown in museums around the world and has been recognized by the Smithsonian and the United Nations. Her site had to carry both the depth and the breadth of it without flattening either. We planned it as an extension of the brand, then built it to hold the immersive narrative her work creates.
- 9Bodies of work, one structure
- GlobalAn audience from curators to first-time viewers
- 3Ways in: the work, the perspective, the collaborations
- Critical eyeApproved by an artist and designer
Where it started
A body of work that spans bioart, garments, sculpture, drawing, film and writing, shown to curators, scientists, technologists and the public, and a site that couldn’t hold all of it at once. Every new project made the problem worse. The work is about what it means to be human as technology accelerates; the site had to make that legible to someone who had never heard her name, without talking down to the people who had.
What we did
We started with the ideas, not the pages. Amy’s practice organizes around a few questions, so the site does too: the work, her perspective on it, and the collaborations it leads to. Under that, nine bodies of work, from bioart to video art, each with room to breathe and a consistent way of reading a project. Then we designed the site to get out of the way of the art: black field, quiet type, the pieces at full scale, film where the work moves.
- 01UnderstandThe concepts first. The work is the argument.
- 02StructureThree ways in, nine bodies of work, one project template.
- 03DirectionA quiet frame that lets the work be loud.
- 04BuildMotion, full-bleed imagery, a system that takes new work without redesign.
Three ways in. Nine bodies of work.
The top of the site answers the three questions a visitor arrives with. Everything else hangs off them.
- 01WorkIn an era where the physical and digital realms intertwine, the artworks that probe what it means to be human. Nine bodies of work, each with its own overview.
- 02PerspectiveTalks, think tanks, writing and advocacy. The thinking behind the work, for the people who book her to speak.
- 03CollaborationThe organizations and companies she partners with, and how to become one of them.
- 01BioArt and biodesign
- 02Biofeedback
- 03Garments
- 042D work
- 05Sculptures
- 06Performances
- 07Video art
- 08Exponential technology
- 09AI
A quiet frame for loud work.
Black field, a wide light wordmark, and imagery run at full width. The homepage opens on her own film. Every body of work gets an overview, every project reads the same way, and nothing competes with the art.
BioArt overviewHover to scroll
Garments overviewHover to scroll
Project pageHover to scroll
Project pageHover to scroll
Film where the work moves.
Much of Amy’s work is time-based or was documented that way: the Regenerative Reliquary growing in its bioreactor, the Golden Archive drawings, the films she makes about the pieces. The site treats video as a first-class material, not a thumbnail, so the pieces are seen the way they were meant to be.
Regenerative Reliquary
Golden Archive
Homepage film
Golden Archive, project pageHover to scroll
Exponential technologyHover to scroll
DarkSquare took the time to thoroughly understand the concepts and vision for my brand, and present it in a high-end contemporary website that a wide audience could understand. As an artist and designer myself I have an extra critical eye, and DarkSquare surpassed my expectations. The team has undeniably impressive talent and is a pleasure to work with.
The rest of the work.
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Start with a conversation.
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