The global aerospace market grew from $261.12 billion in 2022 to $278.43 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6%. Thus, it’s not surprising that the aerospace website designs that explain and explore what companies within this industry do are often insightful, engaging experiences for the users who visit them.
These websites exemplify the progressive and innovative technologies that are at the forefront of our society. But not only that — they also show the exciting new trends in the design industry, infusing these elements into their websites in order to captivate, amaze and intrigue.
From exciting scrolling effects and experimental infrastructures to creative and cool games — these 15 best aerospace engineering websites are packed with a host of exhilarating design elements that align the brands behind them as leaders in their perspective fields.
Table of Contents
1. In Space We Trust
In Space We Trust managed to take creativity to a whole new dimension with their highly interactive 3D design dedicated to the history of space exploration. Upon landing on the homepage, you’ll notice the muted color palette, sleek typography and retro graphics -- all of which work together to create a vintage-inspired theme.
Using a character, you control the pace at which you move through the interactive timeline. A transient audio loop plays in the background, while typography slides across the screen and animated images add layers of depth to the user experience. Although the navigation is fairly limited, it’s not restrictive.
The design is a perfect example of knowing when to layer animations, audio and typography. Coupled with minimal navigation elements and a lack of clutter, this is a deeply (and literally) moving interactive experience.
2. Age of Aerospace
The Age of Aerospace showcases a series of episodes and articles, compiled by the Boeing Company, the largest aerospace company in the world. The website chronicles the past 100 years in aviation history through a series of slides, videos and articles, all compiled into a flowing timeline.
The black, gray, white and sky-blue color palette is an ode to the aerospace imagery of the past. However, the grays are replaced with bright blue filters to highlight hover activity and increase interactivity where needed.
Interactivity oozes from the page with zoom buttons, deep scrolls and animations. But at the heart of this successful UI campaign rests an incredible use of moving imagery, reflective of Boeing’s innovative impact on the industry as a whole.
3. UMATEX Group
UMATEX Group is a Russian-based manufacturing company that specializes in creating fiber and carbon fiber through environmentally sustainable means. The overall design uses a wide variety of rotating animations and crisp images to capture the sleek and professional manner, which the company itself adheres to.
The homepage acts as an above-the-fold option, giving users the ability to scroll through each section. A sidebar menu lays out each section for the user and redirects them to specific pages, where they can dive into each new area of information.
4. Send Me to Outer Space
Send Me to Outer Space was created by a UK-based website developer whose dream is to travel to space. He set up the illustrated site to showcase his projects and share his dream with the rest of the world.
The design of the website is based on the cartoon illustrations of Nick (the website owner) in various the outer space-esque scenarios. They’re colorful sketches drawn in the style of a comic book, accompanied by a playfully effective script font that is used throughout the website. This combination, along with the use of deep scrolling, helps the site feel like a magazine feature or a childhood dream.
5. A Spacecraft For All
A Spacecraft For All isn’t exactly your typical website. As the user, you have complete autonomy over the navigation of the website, thanks to the interactive design. By using the mouse, you can move through space and choose what parts of the journey you want to analyze or learn more about.
The spacecraft-controlled navigation is accompanied by a timeline at the bottom of the page, which serves as an indicator of how space flights have developed over the years.
Because space is a prime aspect of the website design, the colors pretty much pick themselves -- a dark background looms behind the planets, while white fonts and animated designs dot the journey and timeline.
6. Douglas Aerospace
The Douglas Aerospace website was revamped by Sugar Agency, who created a brand-new and seamless website. The beautiful user experience showcases the company’s rich history and dedication to assisting clients, both large and small.
To ensure that both the mobile and desktop experience are engaging, the agency mapped out the entire user journey to digitally narrate the story of this iconic Australian brand.
The ‘Chronicle Display’ header font pairs nicely with the ‘Avenir Next’ paragraphs, further bolstering the clean-cut aspect of the design. Meanwhile, the color palette inspiration came from the desire to embrace the Australian heritage of the company while also maintaining a clean, professional finish.Â
7. Space.io
The Space.io website is another great example of how you can turn a basic website design into an interactive timeline masterpiece. Once the home screen loads, you’ll be prompted to either horizontally scroll or drag your way across the timeline.
The dark background, which represents space, sets the scene for your journey. As you travel through the site, you will come across a variety of animated graphics that represent meteors, planets and more.
It’s an effective way of showing off not just the stylish website design, but also the shapes and forms that common planets and meteors take.
8. NASA Earth & Space Air Prize
The NASA Earth & Space website more resembles a design that you’d see inside an intergalactic spaceship, rather than something commonly found on the internet!
The inspiration for the design comes from the discovery and innovation that NASA is renowned for. However, the science is portrayed in a much friendlier, artistic and entertaining way than usual through this website.
The navigation is reflective of a dashboard that you might see on an aircraft or spacecraft, which adds a special touch to the design. Hover animations are used quite a bit on the site, but they remain helpful and not overpowering.
9. Quantas
Quantas is an Australian-based airline carrier bringing luxury travel at relatively affordable prices to the continent. It's a sleek, sophisticated and luxurious brand that offers top-of-the-line technologies, services and amenities to its travelers, creating an experience they won't forget.
And in a similar fashion, their sleek, modern and corporate website is equally unforgettable. From the dynamic homepage to the swift and streamlined navigation, this website is a destination that is extremely informative, intuitive and insightful.
But it also shows its playful side with an interactive timeline that gives consumers insights into its new Dreamliner jet. And this is where the real star of the brand shines.
This website is extremely interactive, with users able to go on a virtual tour of the jet and its history. The plane literally flies across your screen, with clouds dancing in the background. And it immerses you into this airy experience on impact.
Helpful popups jump to the screen once you click on one of the bubbles in the timeline, and a wealth of information enters your screen giving you an extensive description of that service or event.
This website was built with its consumers in mind, making it an aerospace website that makes an impact.
10. Brussels Airport
Brussels Airport is a major port in Europe, and the major travel hub of Belgium and this web design matches that prominence beautifully.Â
But this website doesn't just promote excellence and authority. It promotes a playful personality, a heart and a soul. This is an airport that loves what it does. It loves travel. It loves travelers. It loves excitement, adventure and discovery.Â
And the tiled layout of this site emphasizes that fluid enthusiasm, with the tiles sliding in and unveiling an entirely new image right before your eyes. It's a modern and sophisticated design element that adds a dynamic, effervescent nature to the airport that is immediately captivating and awe-inspiring.
And it's interactive too. You can hover over these tiles to discover other parts of the site and learn more about its carriers, destinations and amenities.Â
This makes this website standout as an aerospace website because it dares to be different and dares to show it actually cares. It's still a prominent and authoritative institution, but that's not stopping it from showing its design chops and having some fun along the way.Â
The Brussels Airport site is definitely more out-of-the-box. It's dynamic and fluid and fun. And in this instance, it really works.Â
11. 3D International Space Station
This 3D tour of the International Space Station on the Boeing website is one of the most interactive and engaging online experiences you’ll see this year. The model is a full 3D replica of the real space station, and through the use of a click-and-zoom navigation, you’re able to immerse yourself in a deep, insightful journey across the ISS.
Aside from the 3D model, the site hosts some impressive photography of the space station and planet Earth. You’ll also find details and statistics about the station (if you’re into the numbers and data!).
12. BAE Systems
British Aerospace Engineering (BAE) is one of the world’s most renowned engineering firms, and their slick, engaging website is a clear indication of that.
Their professionalism and clarity ooze off this site, with concise, easy-to-understand information used in conjunction with high-quality, relevant graphics -- most of which showcases BAE’s most successful projects.
A combination of a tiled layout and well-timed hover animations make for a simple yet effective user experience. The calming color palette leaves you with a sense of trust and reliability, while the orange accents add just enough strength to the designs.
13. Jet EdgeÂ
Jet Edge is aircraft management and charter company that offers luxury, one-way travel to its customers. It’s a state-of-the-art organization that is dedicated to quality service, impeccable crafts and an overall vibe that screams sophistication and ingenuity.
And their website mimics that, walking users through their offering and available services through us of an image-driven interface. Parallax scrolling takes consumers from the ground, all the way up to 40,000 feet.
Intuitive scrolling effects lead users on a journey, giving them valuable information about the team, the fleet and more so that they can feel comfortable with this brand for their plane charter needs.
It’s a relatively simple site that leads users easily from section to section. The creative scrolling with the aerospace elements along the side really drive home the point of air travel and align the brand as a leader in its field.
And there is plenty of information delightfully infused into this design to ensure that users never get bored with their exploration.
A clean interface, based heavily on imagery and textual content creates a design that anyone would be happy to interact with. And it leaves users with a satisfaction that is unparalleled.
14. Lyon-Saint Exupery AirportÂ
Lyon-Saint Exupery Airport is opening up a brand new terminal and it’s using creative and clever, experimental web design to show travelers what they can expect when the new gates open their doors.
Learn about the luxurious changes that are impacting the airport through this three-dimensional walkthrough, which highlights new areas and attraction inside the terminal with engaging animations.
This 3D visual experience immerses users instantly into the new airport and fascinates on impact, giving a virtual walkthrough that encourages users to see what the fuss is all about by booking a flight.
This is a phenomenal example of what happens when user experience design meets creativity, infusing easy-to-use navigational tools to give visitors a well-rounded and in-depth experience.
They can see all three phases of the upcoming renovations and take a look at each specific initiative.
This, matched with subtle scrolling effects that create a sense of dynamic energy from moving shapes and flying textboxes really instills an urgency in users that is immediately captivating.
This aerospace website goes above and beyond, infusing these experimental, virtual elements to put people right in the middle of all the action, letting them be a part of it from the inside out.
15. U.S. Air ForceÂ
The U.S. Air Force website is a stunning visual display. It infuses video, photography and other exciting imagery to create a digital destination that entices right off the bat, encouraging users to perform a host of different tasks — like learn more about the organization, apply to participate, take advantage of available opportunities and more.
The dynamic nature of this website immediately pulls you in. You see people jumping out of airplanes and performing other incredible feats — how can you not be intrigued?
The U.S. Air Force is the air and space warfare branch of the United States Armed Forces. And it’s a powerful institution with a heavy burden on its shoulders. These members have to be at the top of their game, utilizing the world’s newest and most cutting-edge technologies to keep the citizens of America safe.
And this website helps to create that urgency and promote their robust abilities and strong core values.
Brilliant photography and videos guide users on their journey, and intuitive navigation menu bars make it simple for visitors of the site to learn more and gain a greater understanding and appreciation for this service and its servicemembers.
This is a killer aerospace website design because it reels you in and keeps you captivated in an unparalleled capacity.
What These Innovative Aerospace Websites Can Do For The World Of Design
Each of these aerospace websites utilizes creative elements to cultivate a truly unique experience for every user. Whether it's through the use of clever animations, interactive models or horizontal scrolling, each website design successfully transports visitors to another world entirely.
And that’s important to note for your brand. Of course, your audience will be different and the products and services you will be highlighting may not be as technical and advanced in nature, but you can learn something from the progressive ways these brands and institutions infuse these creative elements into their designs to build an experience truly unique to every user.
Your website can dazzle and amaze just like these do. It’s not just because these websites are about space and aircraft that they perform so well.
We’ve seen dozens of websites in the same categories that still fall flat. But it’s because of how they integrate these stunning elements, catering to a specific audience and honing in so beautifully that these websites stand out for their excellence.
Regardless of your industry, you need a robust online platform and presence to stay relevant and keep users engaged. That’s true whether you’re an e-commerce site selling clothes or an educational institution looking for more applicants.
And these websites are great inspiration for how to combine creative and cool elements with striking, cutting-edge technologies.
