Ricker Lyman: a website with a touch of alternative reality and thoughts about the future

Ricker Lyman is a startup that has pushed the boundaries of technology. It is innovative product – portable servers for processing large amounts of data. Although daily technological progress is no longer surprising. This project of creating a website marked a true breakthrough in big data processing capabilities at the time.

The customers wanted to present a technological product in a non-standard way. They chose a unique and bold design direction – the Atomic Age aesthetic. The founders of the startup were fascinated by the spirit of the 1950s and 1960s. It was time when people were fascinated by new inventions and science was awe-inspiring. The era of bold achievements and hopes for a better future became the basis of the site’s concept. 

Why this website is special?

At that time, there were no clear rules and standards for design. So the team had the opportunity to think outside the box. We didn’t want to just be nostalgic for the past, so we set out to fantasize and boldly weave a touch of the future into this atmosphere. Imagining an alternative reality, we created a design in which the technological achievements of the past shaped our present.

So, in one of the illustrations, we showed a world where there are blockchain farms and server bees that work in data centers. We also added a few spoilers, where people dependent on technology are lazy and less involved in work. Robots appeared in every visual element, hinting that the development of technology can make people less eager to innovate.

The standout feature of this project was the illustrations, meticulously crafted using traditional digital tools. At a time when AI hadn’t yet advanced to the point of generating visuals with a single click.

The central figure was a tin robot, which we transferred to the 3D dimension and gave a major role in the illustrations. The robot quickly became a central element of the brand, featured in both digital materials and brought to life in the company’s office as a physical presence.

The website became a key part of the project because it was around the illustrations. At once functional and artistic, it combined UX solutions with visual storytelling that highlighted the product and its value, creating an engaging user experience.

We updated the brand’s logo and materials. The logo retained its distinctive robot shape, but was modernized to fit in with the new concept. We even reproduced their brochures on punch cards, paying tribute to early computer technology.

Result

The website not only pleased the Ricker Lyman team, but also attracted the attention of the international design community. The project won gold in the “Illustration and Photography” category at the ADC*UA Art Directors’ Competition and silver in the “Interactive and Mobile Websites” category. It also received bronzes at KIAF and AD Black Sea.

The work we did for Ricker Lyman was not just about creating an extraordinary website or interesting visuals. It was a project about creating an experience that captures the imagination, focuses on the past, and simultaneously moves into the future.

Here we wanted to draw attention to the fact that if our inventions and love for them were realized faster and more easily, the past, as well as the present and the future, would be much further away.