Archive Section — Design Lab

Ten working prototypes for the homepage “SAM through the Decades” section, rendered with real staging data. They’re live — click the decade chips, tabs, shelves, dials, spines, and shuffle buttons. Covers currently exist for the 2010s only; earlier decades show a navy typographic tile that real covers will replace as back-issue digitization progresses. Stories randomize on every reload.

Variant A — Decade Rail

Horizontal snap-scroll: one cover + one story per decade. Closest cousin to the department pages’ Decades rail — familiar, compact, endless-feeling.

Variant B — Cover Fan

A fanned stack of covers from one spotlight decade with a story list beside it; decade chips switch eras. Most ‘collector’s shelf’ energy.

Variant C — Timeline Spine

A horizontal timeline with orange year ticks; entries alternate above/below the spine. Most explicitly historical.

Variant D — Chapter Numerals

Big outlined decade numerals as chapter markers, one story + cover per chapter. Editorial, magazine-like pacing; shown with three chapters to stay homepage-sized.

Variant E — Mosaic Evolved

The current archive-mosaic DNA: one navy feature panel + a shelf of six decade covers. Least disruptive evolution of what exists.

Variant F — Contact Sheet

A dense grid of real covers (one decade at a time) with decade tabs. Maximum cover celebration; answers the ‘scroll of covers’ idea safely.

Variant G — Then & Now

A split pairing: an archival story on navy beside a current-season story on paper. Strongest storytelling angle, lightest on covers.

Variant H — Filmstrip

A slow marquee of covers running behind a pinned feature card. Most cinematic; motion respects reduced-motion settings.

Variant I — Spines

Decade slats like book spines that expand on hover/focus to reveal a cover + story. Most playful interaction.

Variant J — Time Machine

One big cover + story with a decade dial — every click jumps eras (try it). Most interactive; randomizes on each visit like the dept pages.