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concept but when this is done the graphical representation must serve a
strategic purpose, which could be either to reinforce the brand identity and
brand spirit or to act as a tool for the repositioning of a luxury brand. Upon
looking at Hermes.com, which has themed its website with playful graphics,
one cannot help but wonder about the strategic purpose because the public's
interpretation of the brand's identity as a classic, contemporary and timeless
brand with a strong French heritage is in contrast with the brand image rep-
resented by the choice of its online graphics, which are youthful and vigorous.
Shapes
also form a part of the visual elements of luxemospherics as they
play an important role in validating a brand's visual identity. Shapes may be
used to portray navigational menu links, sections and sub-sections, frames
and overall format of web pages. The choice of shapes on a luxury brand's
website should be linked to the brand's perceived identity. Some luxury
brands may be perceived as “soft”, for example Chloé, Valentino, Laurent
Perrier or Stella McCartney, while others may be perceived as “hard”, for
example Boucheron, Rémy Martin, Yves Saint Laurent or Karl Lagerfeld.
Such perceptions are linked to the interpretations from the sum of the brand's
messages across several touch-points including advertisements, store con-
cepts, service style, products and communications. These perceptions are
also transferred to the expectations on the brands' websites and therefore we
may not be so surprised if the shapes in the design concept of Yves Saint
Laurent are square and those of Chloé are rounded. The link of shapes to
brand perceptions should however not be the sole reason for the adoption of
specific shapes on a luxury brand's website because important factors like
usability, legibility and visual impact have to be harmonized with shapes. For
example, Brazilian luxury fashion brand Carlos Miele's website (Figure 4.6)
features a design concept based on the same abstract shapes that form the
underlying visual concept of its stores. While these shapes have greatly con-
tributed to giving the brand's physical store a unique and spacious feel, on its
website the same shapes give a feeling of restriction and reduces its visual
impact. Carlos Miele may have integrated soft shapes on its website without
necessarily duplicating its offline shapes since what is suitable offline may
not necessarily be suitable online and vice versa.
In addition to the visual elements that support the luxemosphere, several
sections of a luxury brand's website require particular attention in the inte-
gration of visuals. These are the welcome page, the home page, the design
concept and the display of the visual elements.
The welcome page
is often mistaken for the home page, although they're
starkly different in function and influence. To begin with, any luxury brand
worth its salt ought to have a welcome page on its website. Why? Because
the welcome page acts as the golden door that ushers a client or a poten-
tial client into the world of the brand. It is the point from which the online
experience is defined. After all, in the physical world the door of a luxury
