Pick a look
Not sure how your site should look? Switch on Choose the look from three directions and the first build pauses after planning to show you three looks, each drawn with your own hero words. You pick one, and the whole site is built in it. It stays off unless you turn it on.
Switching it on
Turn on the switch
Where: How it is built
On the sixth step of New project, turn on Choose the look from three directions. It starts off.
Check the review
Where: Review and create
The review lists it under How it is built as On. Press Build it.
On briks.dev, the + menu in the prompt box has a Pick a look first switch: "See three looks for your business and build the one you pick." It arrives on the New project page already switched on.
The switch also appears in the project's Preferences, but it only affects a first build that hasn't been planned yet, so the New project page is the place to set it.
Where it comes in the build
- You press Build it and answer the questions before building.
- Briks plans the site.
- If Approve the words before building is on, you approve the words first.
- The three looks are drawn. The status reads Waiting for your approval and the message box reads "Describe the look you want, or choose one above".
- If Choose the hero from four wireframes is on, you choose the hero next.
- The site is built in the look you chose and published as a preview.
The boards arrive as a message: "Here are three looks for the site, each drawn in one of the studio's own styles with your words. Pick one, or describe the look you want."
What the boards show
Each board is drawn at desktop size and shown small in the conversation. Click one to see it full size; the arrows, or your left and right keys, move between the three. Each board holds:
- the look's name and a line about it;
- six colour swatches: Ground, Surface, Ink, Muted, Accent and Soft;
- the two typefaces by name, with a large Aa in the heading face;
- your hero words: the small line above the heading, the heading itself, the line under it and up to two buttons;
- three sample cards, showing the corners and how a row of cards reads together.
The boards hold no photographs. They show colour, type and shape, which is what differs between the three.
| Look | How the studio describes it |
|---|---|
| Nordic / clean | Quiet and airy: a pale ground, black type, square corners and plenty of space. |
| Warm | Friendly and editorial: warm paper tones, a characterful serif, one bright accent. For a business that works with its hands, such as a bakery, a florist or a joiner, it becomes natural and made by hand: cream and olive, a soft serif, rounded corners. |
| Bold | Loud and cheerful: a saturated accent, chunky rounded type, big soft corners. |
Choosing a look
Compare them full size
Where: Studio
Open each board. Look at the heading in its typeface and at the buttons: they carry the look more than the swatches do.
Press Use this look
Where: Studio
It sits under each board and at the top of the full size view.
Let it build
Where: Studio
The board you chose is marked Chosen and the others fade. The activity line reads "Building in the look you chose."
If none of them is right
Type what you want in the box instead, for example Like the Warm one but darker, with a plain sans serif for headings. The three boards are set aside (the card says "Set aside for what you described") and Briks carries on with the planned look moved towards your words. It doesn't draw three new boards: your description becomes the choice, and the build goes ahead.
Once the site is built, anything about the look can still be changed in a message. Colours or type you are sure of can be fixed under Design rules in Preferences, so every later build keeps them.
What it costs
Planning and drawing the boards is the first part of the build. It is charged for the work it took, and the rest of the 50 credits held at Build it come back while the build waits for you.
When to use it
- Use it when you have no colours or typefaces yet and would rather choose from pictures than describe a style in words.
- Skip it when your colours and type are already fixed: set them on Your brand instead.
- Skip it when you have found a site you like. That site sets the look, so the switch isn't offered.
- Skip it when you won't be around: the build waits at the boards until you choose.
Worked examples
The brief describes a florist with wedding work and weekly deliveries. Choose the look from three directions is on.
Because a florist works with its hands, the Warm board shows cream and olive, a soft serif and rounded corners. The owner picks it, and the site is built in it.
None of the three felt right. The owner typed:
Nordic, but with a deep green accent and a serif for headings.
The boards are set aside, and the build carries on with the planned look moved towards a green accent and serif headings.
Common questions
Can I see the boards again later?
If you chose one, yes: they stay in the conversation with your choice marked Chosen. Boards set aside for a description aren't shown again.
Can I pick a look for a site that already exists?
No. The boards come before a first build. For a built site, describe the change in a message, such as Warmer colours and a serif for headings.
Does it work for apps?
Yes. Websites and apps both get the boards when the switch is on and no site you like was added. Dashboards don't.