Studio-sharing website gets dramatic make-under

No one can say the new homepage is cluttered

No one can say the new homepage is cluttered

We first told you about Open Studio Club, a service designed to help creatives find and rent studio space around the world, back in November. Since then the service has gone from strength to strength, with over 500 studios listed from all over the world - and now comes the inevitable website refresh.

But rather than falling into the usual trap of increasing complexity, adding extra buttons and generally confusing the heck out of people with all the extra bloat, Open Studio Club has gone in exactly the opposite direction, giving their site a dramatic 'make-under'.

The bare-bones aesthetic is maintained throughout the site

The bare-bones aesthetic is maintained throughout the site

On reaching the homepage the visitor is now met by a starkly minimalist design based on bare-bones, geometric shapes set against a grey and white background.

It's an unusual approach, and one which certainly conveys the idea of 'space', as well as the 'blank canvas' of opportunities the service (essentially the Airbnb of the design studio world) is offering.

New features

The redesign is not all entirely about stripping back; some new services and design elements have been added.

Each studio now gets its own page to advertise its space

Each studio now gets its own page to advertise its space

Every studio now gets its own page featuring a large colour photo, for instance, while a new section called 'Work Cafes' is intended to help freelancers find cafes in their local area that welcome them. The redesign also features a range of special designed icons/pictograms to allow studios to highlight the facilities they offer in a clearer way.

Overall, though, the grey, minimal aesthetic is carried across, giving the site a design unity and strikingly unique look throughout. We'd love to hear what you think of this approach to site design - let us know your views in the comments below!

Like this? Read these!

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

The Creative Bloq team is made up of a group of design fans, and has changed and evolved since Creative Bloq began back in 2012. The current website team consists of eight full-time members of staff: Editor Georgia Coggan, Deputy Editor Rosie Hilder, Ecommerce Editor Beren Neale, Senior News Editor Daniel Piper, Editor, Digital Art and 3D Ian Dean, Tech Reviews Editor Erlingur Einarsson and Ecommerce Writer Beth Nicholls and Staff Writer Natalie Fear, as well as a roster of freelancers from around the world. The 3D World and ImagineFX magazine teams also pitch in, ensuring that content from 3D World and ImagineFX is represented on Creative Bloq.