2/4/2026
Today, I worked on Hwaro’s website.
2/5/2026
Today I spent some time working on the website again.
These are some inspirations for the new site I am designing:
And, here is the current website right now with some minor changes from yesterday:
Overall, it’s a website that works but it’s not conveying the full potential this brand may able to convey with some better decisions.
Here are some things that can improve:
Some decorative elements like the star and the gray curly illustrations don’t work simply because they don’t speak traditional Korean.
Some decorative elements like curved corners here and there look modern but they don’t connect back to the Hwaro brand.
2/6/2026
Today I worked on the landing page a little.
Whoever took the photos of Hwaro did a great job so I want the elegant texts to sit on top of these photos so it feels like one of those nice journalism website page or a magazine spread.
Over the weekend, I want to finish up the landing page, tasting menu page, about page & the team’s page with a consistent design system that I can be content with.
2/9/2026
Today is Monday.
Over the weekend, I’ve made some changes to the website to execute some of the sketches I’ve done in Figma to Wordpress and then play around with Wordpress to see what sticks.
I was able to make changes in Wordpress based on Figma sketches I’ve made earlier but next challenge is to create a style guide/design system that the rest of the Hwaro team can comprehend and use if they want to while also keep learning Wodpress for myself.
HWARO-THE ART OF GATHERING
2/10/2026
So far I got to tweak each page of the current website with some new loose rules set in place.
The next step for me is to make these rules more clean and concrete and also address some of the comments from the team today.
Here are some reference images and inspirations that can help me move forward as I make changes this week:
Adhering to the theme or the main concept of this restaurant shown in its tagline “the art of gathering” I was able to bring some light-hearted and playful moments through hover interactions shown above [the people gathering around the Hwaro looks like they are having a good time/laughing with the hover motion and the Hwaro logo looks playful and approachable as tilts]
I am going to visit each of these websites above this week and try to apply some of the things they have done in a way that’s fitting for Hwaro’s website.
For example, the 4th photo (from the top) showcases an indoor space and some nice typographical treatment that has variations of fonts.
I can see how that can help describe a page or a section of a page in a dynamic and immersive manner that could be engaging.
Overall, I want the website to feel dynamic, smooth & fitting to the concept of this hospitality brand: the art of gathering.
The word gathering for Hwaro is more about intimacy, sharing & celebrating and the word art is about possibility, energy & openness.