With his new book set to be published, artist, author and Square co-founder Jim McKelvey asked Atomicdust to make a tech-forward website design that would inspire others to take action and solve problems through innovation.
Jim McKelvey is unconventional. He founded a company that revolutionized business and commerce, and he’s also a glassblowing artist. As a champion of engineering, entrepreneurial and tech initiatives, he’s constantly looking to innovate—and pushing others to do the same.
His unique perspective inspired us to turn a traditional user experience on its side by implementing a horizontal scroll for the homepage navigation. The background’s thin vertical lines hint at a grid structure, showing the design and engineering underpinnings most sites hide.
While most author websites lead with a photo and bio, we knew we needed to lead with Jim’s ideas. His blog posts land front and center, followed by books, a bio and opportunities to stay in touch.
To make the site authentically Jim, we took inspiration from his voice and new book. Copy on the site is straightforward and conversational, sometimes irreverent and blunt.
A new description for The Innovation Stack echoes Jim’s personality and experiences, rather than the publisher’s summary, and the About section urges readers to focus more on ideas and exploration than meaningless trivia about Jim.
As relaxed copy gives visitors a sense of interacting with Jim, two features on the site help them stay connected. The Newsletter signup allows visitors to stay updated on Jim’s ideas and projects while the Contact page supports the goal of the website: inspiring others to explore and think outside the box.
Like everyone who meets him, we learned a lot from Jim as we worked together. It was an honor to get a preview of his new book and to work with him to create a website worthy of one of the world’s biggest names in tech and innovation.
