“One Shared House" is an interactive documentary story about a radical experiment of communal living over 30 years ago in Amsterdam. Eight women decided to build a shared house together in central Amsterdam because homes were too expensive for single parent families. Today, designer Irene Pereyra -- one of the children who was raised in this exact communal house -- decided to learn more about the story behind this unusual place and tell it to the world. The story is depicted through personal interviews with residents; video portraits, animations, data visualizations, photography, and audioscapes.
The main focus is the video, with a lector telling the story in the background. It’s divided into sections that allow the user to skip along, go back and relive the previous chapter, or read more information, all while watching the video and listening the story. It’s very informative and the design around the video is very clear and simple to follow. Overall, the experience of this interactive documentary is amazing and it is inspirational to see websites that take storytelling to the next level.
The interactive experience corresponds with the concept of co-living perfectly. It’s progressive and very bold, with modern typography and strong colors, all of which give an innovative feeling to the whole website. The architecture of the information is very unique, and the user is guided through the story very smoothly.
The comic-style illustrations add whimsy, and the message is clear and informative -- particularly thanks to the infographic and statistics. Users can watch videos to learn more about the subjects, but are able to return to the story at any moment. The hamburger navigation menu easily takes users to four other sections of the website as well.
Overall, this experimental art piece successfully tells its story and brings the corresponding documentary to a new level. However, although we love the cinemagraphs on the homepage, our eyes are drawn to the interesting photography. We would love to see this style carried throughout the entire site, binding it together even more.
One Shared House's layout is grid-based and divided into different blocks, depend on the context. The bold colors add contrast between the strong flat background, bold typography, and black-and-white videos, ultimately making the content compelling.
One Shared House is a colorful website design in the Arts & Recreation and Entertainment industries.
