The making of the promo website for .москва and .moscow domains

Meeting with the client and discussing Moscow domains, modern Moscow, business as well as various stereotypes about the city, both good and bad. Starting to think. We want to move away from the imperial images, “the city of opportunities” and the Moscow City.

What if it’s a Moscow QWERTY keyboard? We type the letters, check the availability and make a purchase.

Or maybe put the star in the center and make it change?

Coming up with a search bar that travels across Moscow and shows up in museums, squares, parks, clubs and cafés.

Or maybe a city of words? Different words are added to the logo. It’s easy to can see how the entire domain name will look.

Art director: Not cool enough. The one with the letters is more or less OK.

Meanwhile, the client sends over the brand book and corporate identity of Moscow domains.

Playing with the style. Maybe, we’ll have hands assembling a cut-out picture using corporate symbols? Cooperation, business, domains.

Deciding to concentrate on the subject more. What are we selling? Words on the internet.

What if we turn it into a game, write the hottest words in a list and have the users scroll it to see how they would look with .москва and .moscow? And if you like the result, you can purchase the domain right away. Spin the wheel, cybersquatter, win your prize! We can also add the corporate symbols on the second layer.

Art director: Nice.

Assembling a quick prototype and showing both alternatives to the client. The wheel of domains wins.

Adding a button and a stripe in the middle of the screen where the words will line up with TLDs. The color of the stripe will show if the domain is still available.

Deciding to liven up the corporate illustrations and turn them into cartoons. Designers draw the animation.

Starting to typeset and program the scrolling. It is important to ensure the words line up with .москва and .moscow precisely and that the list is an endless loop. Testing the solution on different devices: mice with simple and inertial wheels, powermates, touchpads and keyboards.

Meanwhile, the cartoons are ready. Assembling them in sequences to be able to control animation speed in code.

Thinking through all possible entry errors.

Adding a real list of the most desirable domain names. Time to spin the wheel!