Lit Resistance
Lit Resistance is a banned books subscription club based in Edmonton, created to build community around challenged literature, independent thinking, and meaningful conversation.
The client came in with a strong concept, existing branding, and a clear emotional direction: the site needed to feel bold, welcoming, and distinct from the typical polished subscription-box template. The goal was to create a digital experience that felt editorial, immersive, and highly memorable—something that reflected both the personality of the brand and the spirit of the books themselves.
From a design perspective, the project leaned heavily into contrast: bright colour, layered visual movement, nostalgic warmth, and subtle tension between comfort and rebellion. The inspiration became a kind of modern 1980s reading room—part book club, part cultural salon, part quiet act of resistance.
The build involved extensive custom CSS and front-end code to create interactive reveals, hover states, layered transitions, hidden elements, and subtle moments of discovery throughout the site. Rather than relying on standard Squarespace structure, many sections were custom-shaped to create a more dynamic and editorial browsing experience.
Alongside the visual identity, the project included full e-commerce setup for subscription sales, product flow optimization, responsive mobile refinement, and the creation of the “Living Room”—a community-focused space designed to encourage discussion, comments, and reader participation beyond the transaction itself.
The result is a site that feels highly branded, deeply personal, and intentionally different. It balances strong UX with personality-driven design, creating an experience that feels less like shopping and more like joining something worth being part of.
