Watchmaker
Walnut, polished brass and ivory, a watchmaker in the old market since 1968.
Playfair Display · Lora
Skeuo
Wood, brass, leather and paper
Skeuomorphism: the interface copies real materials, grained wood, stitched leather, paper and polished brass, with deep shadows and buttons that look truly pressable. For crafts, watchmakers, bookshops and premium products.
12 designs
What defines this style
- Typography
- A classic serif in heavy weights, embossed (a light text-shadow above and a dark one below), with a comfortable serif for text.
- Colour
- Material colours: wood and leather browns, paper cream, golden brass for buttons, and a dark green or oxblood as a second colour.
- Layout
- Sections as different surfaces: a wooden board, a pinned sheet of paper, a stitched leather panel; cards as paper cards or drawers.
- Shapes
- Small corners (6–10px), dashed stitching inside the edges (a dashed outline with a negative outline-offset), multi-layer shadows, and brass buttons with a four-stop gradient.
- Imagery
- Warm photos in a white paper frame with a shadow, like prints laid on a table.
- Motion
- Realistic and unhurried (300–500ms): buttons press in, cards lift off the surface on hover.
- Details
- Wood grain from repeating gradients, paper texture, brass rivets in the corners, strips of tape.
- Avoid
- Flat bright colours, modern geometric sans faces, heavy real texture photos (build the materials in CSS).
12 designs
Leather desk
Dark green leather with gold stitching and cream paper, a long-established law office.
Libre Caslon Display · Libre Caslon Text
Trattoria
A red cloth tablecloth, wood and a printed paper menu, a warm family restaurant.
Young Serif · Lora
Coffee mill
Dark wood, copper and burlap sacks, a café with an old hand-turned mill.
DM Serif Display · Lora
Orchard
Linen cloth, crate wood and olive green, a fruit farm that sells by the crate.
Fraunces · Lora
Drafting table
A blue board, a brass ruler and drawing paper, a contractor showing its work on the drafting table.
Oswald · Source Serif 4
Workshop
A carved wooden board and riveted brass plates, a hand-made sign workshop.
Rye · Lora
Album
A brown leather cover and prints held by gold photo corners, a wedding and family photographer.
Cormorant Garamond · Lora
Grand hotel
Mahogany, brass keys and the reception bell, a grand old hotel with a century's spirit.
Cinzel · EB Garamond
Tailor
Grey wool felt, a yellow tape measure and brass buttons, a school of tailoring and dressmaking.
Playfair Display · Lora
Keepsake box
Cotton paper with torn edges, a red wax seal and a silk ribbon, a wedding invitation.
Great Vibes · Cormorant Garamond
Apothecary
Wooden shelves, amber glass and paper labels, a perfumer who blends oils by hand.
IM Fell English · EB Garamond