Editorial design · Premium web
La Parenthèse Barcelona.
Trilingual premium editorial site for a luxury emotional brand — a private 3-day romantic experience in Barcelona, limited to two couples per month.
The pitch
04 chaptersJuliette came to me with a clear brief: not a touristic site, not a SaaS site. A site you read like a letter, not a menu. Three languages (FR/EN/ES), 100% conversion via WhatsApp, zero content maintenance once shipped — she runs everything, solo.
Mid-project she doubts. Asks me to split into 5 classic pages — by reflex, because that's what 90% of sites do. I push for the cinematic long-scroll. That's the grammar of Aman, Loro Piana, Relais & Châteaux. The story unfolds as you scroll, every section builds emotion toward the final CTA.
A site you read like a letter, not a menu.
I built the 5-page version anyway, so she could judge on the real thing. 30 minutes later: "I don't like this principle, go back to long-scroll, it's better." Back to long-scroll, with a photographer block integrated as a zoom-in. The lesson I keep: knowing how to argue against the client's immediate ask, and knowing how to prototype fast enough that she judges on the artifact, not on slides.
The result: 17 sections orchestrated like a film script. Cream / umber / sand palette. Cormorant Garamond for titles, Pinyon Script for Juliette's signature. Custom SVG — the Panot flower (Barcelona's tile pattern), the envelope stamp with a heart pulse. Zero server, zero CMS, ~0€/month operating cost (Netlify + Plausible). 7 rounds of feedback over 4 weeks, handled via a Node script applying 150 edits across the 3 languages simultaneously.
The stack
Front & framework
i18n & infra
Design system
Behind the scenes
04 stepsLong-scroll vs 5 pages — the call that defined the site.
Mid-project, Juliette doubts. She asks me to split into 5 classic pages (Home / Service / Partners / About / Contact). It's what 90% of sites do — a legitimate reflex.
My counter-argument: for a niche emotional service, cinematic long-scroll converts better. It's the grammar of Aman, Loro Piana, Relais & Châteaux. The story unfolds as you scroll, every section builds emotion toward the final CTA. Splitting into 5 pages = multiplying clicks therefore abandonments and losing the narrative thread.
I built the 5-page version anyway — so she could judge on the real thing, not on a deck. 30 minutes later, back to long-scroll, with a photographer block integrated as a zoom-in.
The lesson I keep: knowing how to argue against the client's immediate ask, and knowing how to prototype fast enough that she judges on the artifact. It's shorter than a presentation, and infinitely more convincing.