Ellae

Initiated in 2019 by poet, composer and storyteller Rajae El Mouhandiz, Ellae is a foundation located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Recognized a public benefit organization, its main focus lies on improving the professional career of women artists of all kinds who are still far underrepresented in the cultural sector. Ellae wants to close the gap for artists regarding disadvantages related to gender, social background, and economic status. But its scope is far wider, as it also addresses institutions from the culture and art industries, creates networks, launches artistic collaborations and projects, and battles to raise awareness among the general public. Or, in their own words, they are a creative impact platform.

The backbone to all of this is the well-filled website conceived of and designed by Eskimo°s vorm & idee, the joint label of marketing expert Simone Rentmeester and graphic designer Esmée Erdtsieck. The Ellae logo emphasizes the parallel strokes in the double l and thereby introduces a recurring element of the site’s headlines, the equation mark. The overall web design has the appeal of a magazine with a generous white backdrop, reading text in different sizes and column widths, and eye-catching photographs. A nice effect is the color change upon hover, highlighting key words. At the bottom of almost every subpage you will find an invitation to interaction.

The typeface used here is Proto Grotesk, in Light, Regular and Bold, designed by Jean-Baptiste Levée and available from Production Type. This sans serif was inspired by early 19th century designs when the genre still allowed for excentric combinations, round and squarish, monolinear and high-contrast, sans and an occasional slab serif. It is a marvellous pick for this website as it embodies some of the core aspects of Ellae that value different backgrounds, underscore multivoicedness, and achieve strength through unity.