--- title: "Pick a look | Briks" url: https://briks.dev/docs/pick-a-look description: "See three looks before your site is built, each a board of colours, type, corners, a button and cards set with your own hero words, then build the one you pick." last_updated: 2026-10-08 --- # 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. 5 minute read Checked against the studio on 8 October 2026 ## Switching it on 1. 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. 2. 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. When it isn't offered Pick a look is for websites and apps built without a site you like. With a site added, the step says "Your reference site decides the look and the hero, so there is none to choose." For a dashboard it says "A dashboard builds straight through, with no words to approve and no look or hero to choose." 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 1. You press **Build it** and answer the [questions before building](https://briks.dev/docs/questions-before-building). 2. Briks plans the site. 3. If **Approve the words before building** is on, you approve the words first. 4. 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". 5. If **Choose the hero from four wireframes** is on, you choose the hero next. 6. 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 1. 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. 2. Press Use this look Where: Studio It sits under each board and at the top of the full size view. 3. 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. Choosing starts a new hold Pressing **Use this look** starts the rest of the build, which holds up to 50 credits (what your balance has, down to 5) and is charged for the work it takes. With less than 5 at that moment, the studio says so and the choice waits. Describing a look in the box instead holds 5, as a change does. On the Free plan, with 50 credits in all, this can leave you short, so check your balance before switching it on. ## 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 Chosen A florist in York > 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. Described instead A tax adviser in Leicester > 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. ## Read next - [Building **Approve as it builds** Have a first build stop for you: approve the words, choose one of three looks, then pick a hero from four grey layouts. How to turn it on and what it costs.](https://briks.dev/docs/approval-steps) - [Building **Start a new project** Every choice on the New project page, step by step: the kind of project, your brief, a site you like, brand, pictures, build switches and what starting costs.](https://briks.dev/docs/new-project) - [Building **Build from a site you like** Add one site and up to six screenshots you like. Briks reads its layout, spacing, type, motion and menus, then builds yours in that spirit without copying.](https://briks.dev/docs/build-from-sites-you-like) - [Getting started **Credits and plans** How Briks credits work: holds of 50 and 5, charges for the work done, estimates and builds that wait, what happens at zero, and what each plan includes.](https://briks.dev/docs/credits-and-plans) Still stuck? Write to [hello@briks.dev](mailto:hello@briks.dev) with your project's name and what you expected to see. A screenshot helps.