FL@33, contact@flat33.com | Stereohype | Online Boutique

STEREOHYPE | ONLINE BOUTIQUE | STEREOHYPE.COM v.2
After long preparations and extensive fine-tuning we are at last very happy to announce the launch of the new responsive Stereohype website v.2 – streamlined for your browsing pleasure.
___ It was designed by FL@33 and programmed by our trusted friends at Huck und Fresow.
___ You can now explore the entire range of Stereohype by making use of new product categories, tags, search filters and the responsive, generous and easy-to-browse layout. Quickly find what you are looking for or let Stereohype surprise and inspire you with the ever-growing collection.

WHAT’S NEW – AN IN-DEPTH OVERVIEW
FL@33 launched the graphic art label and online boutique Stereohype in 2004. This first Stereohype website was designed with very different criteria in mind compared to what we did have to consider for the new incarnation.

OLD AND NEW COMPARED
The old online boutique did us a great service for over a decade – but shortcomings became increasingly apparent as hundreds of products were added over the years. Patching up the website just did not solve the issues anymore towards the end.
___ Nowadays Stereohype’s expanding range already includes over 1,700 button badges by over 650 contributors, themed button badge gift boxes, books and mags and T-shirts and last but not least the freshly extended graphic art section that now also includes posters, fine art prints, photographic prints and original artworks.
___ The old 2004 version 1 (or rather 1.9999999999) was designed with only a couple of hundred products in mind. Without taking different formats and T-shirt sizes into consideration we have today over 2,700 products as our fresh new counter indicates on the homepage (figures were updated here in the meantime).

10th ANNIVERSARY
The new website v.2 was initially meant to be ready for Stereohype’s 10th anniversary celebrations in autumn 2014 – and in time for our major retrospective Stereohype 2004–2014 exhibition in London. The design process however ended up teasing us to go the extra mile – which unsurprisingly took a few extra months. We are very relieved to have added our entire wish list to the new online boutique to make browsing – and buying – our products a swift, easy and pleasant experience.

ADDED FUNCTIONALITY
On computer screens you can now very quickly fill your basket using the custom-designed 'add to basket' icon under each product (on rollover). Sounds basic but we did not have this before. This new speedy option is especially practical for the currently already 1,000-strong button badge collection.
___ On touch screen devices one has to click twice (as the rollover function does of course not exist for these devices) but we still wanted to offer the alternative, in-depth info page there, too.
___ For touch screen devices the website was optimised at the time for the latest iOS on iPad and iPhone. We will of course continue to monitor future compatibility.
___ All pictures were prepared in higher resolution to allow the badges to look as crisp as possible – even on retina screens.
___ A new zoom function allows to have a closer look at products – especially those cute little mini canvases that are our badges.
___ The 'Button badge of the day' (#BBOTD) feature that was introduced many years ago on social media channels is now an automated feature at stereohype.com’s homepage. Every day a random badge is being showcased and its price reduced by a third – but only until the next badge is being showcased.
___ The grid-based, responsive layout allows for as many products to be shown as the browser window allows – a game changer compared to the old website.
___ The two most important additions however are the 'search by' 'filters' – covering colours, themes and especially artist names – an extremely useful tool considering that Stereohype has over 600 contributors (and hundreds more if you count all the involved individuals from studios and collectives).

TWO WEBSITES IN ONE | WHOLESALE
The other crucial functionality we added allows the website to also be a wholesale platform for registered Stereohype stockists and contributors – where prices change according to selected quantities. A simple CMS checkbox in the background transforms the status of registered users to be allowed to order wholesale. Finally they are now also able to enjoy the swift online shopping experience for their bulk orders.

DESIGN
The illustrative and more colourful design elements of the previous website design – with all it's spray paint splashes, rainbow-coloured logo rollover and pink buttons and headlines – were all replaced with a toned-down and altogether more minimal visual language.
___ This is to allow the colourful products to shine more as the interface appears less dominant. Pastel-tones are used for product shots other than button badges whenever necessary. The main injection of bright colours used as part of the interface are currently a bright yellow that appears for rollovers and a nice deep blue for the 'Sale' icons. A subtle gold colour is used for 'New' icons.
___ Stereohype's maskot – the squirrel – found its rightful place in its current incarnation, too. The low-polygon squirrel sculpture from the exhibition and the book cover is shown on the website as a wire-frame animation loading gif.
___ Aperçu by Colophon Foundry is the new Stereohype house font. We introduced it with the anniversary book Stereohype 2004–2014, postcards and the signage for the retrospective exhibition of the same name in autumn 2014.

FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS
It's a worthy website relaunch that was overdue for Stereohype’s beautiful collection of graphic art gems and we are very happy to be able to share it with the world at last.
___ Fine-tuning and improvements will of course continue in the background and constructive criticism or flattering feedback is as always very much appreciated.