The team at Flow Communications has created a fresh and original website for Marshalltown’s intriguing and innovative Darkie Café.
Flow designer Stephanie Mazingi has only praise for the project and the café itself. When members of the Flow team visited Darkie Café to take photographs for the site, they were welcomed with drinks and given insight into the history of the café and what makes it unique.
Stephanie describes the Darkie Café as a mix of modern and cultural, and says that it is “a breath of fresh air” because it is so unexpected in the centre of Marshalltown.
The website is inspired by the look and feel of Darkie Café itself. The background of the site is a photograph of the embossed wallpaper in the café, and Stephanie, who designed the striking header, says she was inspired by the wallpaper’s flowing, floral lines.
The team decided to keep the colour palette of the site simple and muted so that images of the food would stand out. And one look at the site confirms that these instincts were accurate. (Stephanie adds happily that after the food was photographed, the Flow team got to taste it.)
Stephanie found an able ally in Flow web developer Vaughan Webber, whom she praised for his willingness and ability to make her ideas become reality.
Vaughan was impressed with ExpressionEngine (the content management system the team used to get the site up and running), even though it was the first time he had used it for commercial purposes. “As the project went on, I got to see how powerful ExpressionEngine is and how quickly you can deliver on a project,” he says.
The site is a great example of the beauty eclecticism can posses. The culture of Darkie Café, with comedy nights and salsa nights and its diverse clientele, is also evidence of this.
