McCoy & Co - Personal Project - The Mushroom Farmer

Project Overview

Client:

Personal Project

Industry:

Art

URL:

Overview:

The Mushroom Farmer is an experimental web project exploring alternative interface structures outside conventional UX templates.

While much of my professional work focuses on scalable, commercially robust systems, this project operates as a controlled sandbox — testing mood-driven navigation, non-linear interaction, and slower forms of digital engagement.

All photography is original, captured across multiple countries. Rather than scientific classification, each image is titled in the voice of an imagined 18th-century peasant — shifting the tone from taxonomy to folklore.

Context:

Having worked in web design since the late 1990s — from early Flash and table-based layouts through to modern design systems — I’ve maintained personal projects as spaces for experimentation.

The Mushroom Farmer continues that practice: building interfaces as exploratory environments rather than conversion funnels.

Approach

Design Philosophy

Intuition over instruction
Non-linear navigation structures
Atmosphere before optimisation
Interface as artefact, not utility

The experience encourages curiosity and slow interaction rather than efficiency.

Technical

Lightweight HTML/CSS foundation
Custom JavaScript for transitions and layered interactions
Floating UI elements, hidden panels, modular loops
Adaptive behaviour responding to screen size and device type

Framework-light by choice. Intent-heavy by design.

Outcome

The Mushroom Farmer demonstrates flexibility beyond commercial UX patterns. It serves as an ongoing exploration of narrative interface and emotional texture in digital space.

Showcase