CULTWATCH


Sometime in the late 2000s, I became interested in learning about Scientology & cults, and ever since, I do quite a lot of reading/watching/listening on the subject. Many years ago I had created a single HTML webpage to store my starter reading list, but it was hard to edit and outdated. I wanted to join the 21st century and create a dynamic repository for all the content I consume around cults that I would recommend, sortable and searchable. So, the Cultwatch reading list was born.

 

I wanted to include design elements reflective of cult strategies even though they may not be obvious (also sort of like cult strategies!). The text is WCAG accessible, but just at the edge of the eye's comfort zone. A rainbow traditionally has a happy, peaceful connotation but here is used almost to the point of excess, reminiscent of lovebombing and incessant idealism. Friendly curves overlap uneasily, looking more melting than layered. Many typefaces and bold, aggressive colors overwhelm even in the familiar listing setup.

I developed this site myself, stretching my coding knowledge quite a bit. The site is built on the CSS grid with many flexbox elements; I also included touches like a resizing menu brain on scroll and a custom animated SVG for the loading icon.

 
 

Cultwatch is live here. Dive in.

 

deliverables: website

date: march 22 - april 2, 2021

project type: website