If you want to build a great website, approach it like an artist
For our Front-End Lead Chris Fantauzzi, seeing students turn blank canvases into big ideas while studying at OCAD played an important part in how he creates great websites for clients.
When I was studying at OCAD, I was surrounded by two things: lots of promising artists and lots of blank canvases. For years, I got to see how students used skill, experience, and creativity to turn those canvases into big ideas, and I learned the fundamentals of what makes something resonate with viewers.
With over 30 website builds under our belt and nine years of experience spanning thousands of hours, we’ve spent a lot of time using Craft CMS as our canvas to bring client ideas to life. But the more I’ve worked on these website refreshes, overhauls, and from-the-ground-up builds, the more I’ve realized how informative those OCAD days were.
In short? If you really want to build a website that resonates, start thinking like an artist.
Fundamentals matter
Before an artist dips their paintbrush into any paint, they’ll typically know what creates a good piece of art and lean into core principles or “rules” to make that happen.
In painting, that could be the rule of thirds, scale and proportion, or colour theory. With web design, it’s things like a strong site hierarchy, intuitive UI, and making sure you create a thoughtful authoring experience.
While the desire and intent of a website can change from site to site, as it did with canvases I saw at OCAD, some of the core approaches don't. There are certain principles that resonate, rules that just work, and reasons people go back to them repeatedly.
It's easier to erase pencil than paint
Once an artist knows what they're trying to achieve with their painting, they’ll typically start sketching out the key details. Will it need a sky? Mountains? A dock on the water? What will the composition look like before they start applying paint?
It’s the same when we’re designing a site. We’ll ask clients what sections they want to include, what types of functionality will best solve their challenges, what content authors will want to create, and what the intent of a website is.
By coming up with a plan, you can wire things up — or sketch things out — in a way that makes it easier for everyone, instead of bolting on features or details over time.
Think for the now but prepare for the future
Every artist hopes they’ll create work that stands the test of time. No one I saw at OCAD looked like they were in the business of creating throwaway content, and neither are web designers. In other words, the internet is the world’s biggest art gallery, and we want our websites to run long into the future.
Naturally, the one key difference between creating a painting and a website is that people will interact with them differently over time.
Typically, a painting is considered complete, and framed for people to enjoy, but a website isn’t. It evolves, morphs, and updates with new content. As a result, we design sites with specific guardrails and settings, so clients feel empowered to make changes long into the future without the worry of compromising their brand’s visual identity or the site’s original intent.
Who said you have to stick to paint?
I’ve been using paint as an example, but an artist will be the first to encourage you to think outside of the box and not be limited by your material.
The same is true of building websites. Especially with a platform like Craft CMS, the possibilities are endless, and there’s so much we can do to make a B2B vision a reality across content creation, UX/UI, ecommerce, or something else.
We’re not afraid to experiment with different materials, textures, or tools to push your CMS to its limits and unlock something special and memorable that better represents your brand.
The best work balances experience and restraint
That experimentation should, however, come with a caveat. While some of the ideas I saw at OCAD dazzled, remaining memorable for years, others became layered with so much technique and experimentation that the original intent was lost.
That’s not to say those pieces were bad — because they weren’t. Instead, it served as a personal reminder that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. The best art is art that doesn’t feel overengineered.
It’s the same for website design. The best work comes from a delicate balance of experience and restraint. Knowing what resonates, what doesn’t, and being able to draw on previous knowledge to make something special.
Chris is Front-End Lead at Motum B2B. Find out more about him here.
Ready to put paint to canvas?
If you don’t have experience putting paint to canvas (or code to screen), we can help. Whether you’re looking to complete a refresh, rework, or want to build something from scratch, our team of B2B website experts can bring your big ideas to life.