What’s new
What we’ve shipped lately — newest first.
Quieter input, tidier nav
Clicking into the vibe field no longer draws a red outline around the card — the panel lifts slightly instead, which feels less like a warning and more like it’s ready. The “Import Letterboxd” link moved back to the right side of the nav where it belongs. The sample lists that used to appear below the List URL field are gone — they were more noise than shortcut for most people.
The slider learned some discipline, and the input got taller
The niche slider leans a little deeper by default now — balanced toward the films a Letterboxd regular hasn’t gotten to yet, rather than the ones everyone’s already logged. Push it further and films you’ve definitely seen step aside for ones you probably haven’t. We also added a depth chip to each row in list view — “Familiar,” “Under-the-radar,” or “Deep cut” — so you can see at a glance where a title sits. The vibe input is taller, set in serif, with a red caret and rotating example queries that cycle when you haven’t started typing. A sticky export bar stays at the bottom of results so the Letterboxd CSV is always one tap away. Small things: “Import Letterboxd” moved out of the button row into the nav links, FAQ no longer follows you past the homepage, and the niche slider waits for you to tap Apply before re-running.
Atmosphere first, not genre first
When a query names a texture — rain-soaked, sun-drenched, neon-lit, foggy, wintery — Perfery now treats the atmosphere as the subject, not decoration around a genre tag. A search for “rain-soaked noir” reaches for Blade Runner, Collateral, and Se7en instead of defaulting to 1940s classics that share the genre label but not the weather. On the quieter end, abstract queries like “warm hug” or “movies where nothing bad happens” no longer pull the same handful of prestige favorites across every search. The recommendations should feel written for that specific mood, not assembled from a universal “good taste” list.
Pick mode: seeds that carry through
When you hand-pick a few films and ask for recommendations, the grid should feel like it belongs in the same conversation as those titles — not a different mood entirely. This is tuning, not a new button: rows land closer to the shared DNA of your seeds. We ran real picks through real grids many times before calling it ready.
Deeper cuts at the deep end, loading where you’re looking
Slide niche lean toward the far end and the obvious picks ease back. While a run is in flight, the loading line stays right under your input instead of disappearing down the page. The slider also waits for you to confirm before re-running — no surprise refreshes while you drag.
Less furniture under the grid
The extra helper strip below results is gone so the page breathes. Niche lean and each film’s detail sheet still carry everything you need. Loading uses the same vertical film accent as the splash, and IMDb and Metacritic ratings on cards usually appear sooner.
Shorter addresses, calmer layout
List, vibe, and picks use shorter paths in the address bar — easier to read, easier to share. Film pages use readable titles in the URL instead of raw numbers. Past the home doors, the list studio widens into a calmer single column.
Magazine layout, another pass
The home experience leaned further into the magazine shell: studio, results rail, and cream surfaces all got another round so list, picks, and vibe each feel intentional. Export and curate messaging match the same system.
Poster fallbacks and nav polish
Refreshed assets and poster fallbacks keep the hero and grids from showing empty frames when art is missing. The top bar picked up clearer hover and focus states so it reads as part of the same surface.
Error pages that belong here
Missing pages and error screens now use the same cinematic shell as the rest of Perfery instead of feeling like a different product.
About: a magazine spread, not a readme
The About page is built on a twelve-column grid so copy and art land like an editorial layout. Three archival panels anchor the story — a vintage card catalog, a narrator still, and a textured film strip. Every image sits in a charcoal frame with soft print-style edges so nothing feels like a stock banner.
Letterboxd lists fall in line
The “Your lists” control lines up with the list URL field so the row reads as one piece of hardware. The mood line on the homepage calls out Perfery by name. Labels and copy stay aligned with the live site.
Fewer odd states between modes
Recommendations and navigation got a reliability pass — fewer surprises when you move between list, picks, and vibe or re-run a grid.
Bolder type, clearer steps
A new display typeface for the headline and logo — richer on screen. The three steps under the input are numbered, clearer, and matched to each mode. On phones, you can still trim or swap a poster after removing a title from your list.
Cleaner tabs, better export, steadier errors
The home screen got a cleaner tab bar. Export spells out what you get — details, ratings, streaming. New visitors see a short tip above results. If movie data can’t load, you’ll see a real message instead of a blank wall.
Smoother on small screens
Scrolling, spacing, and poster layouts on phones are tuned so nothing feels cramped. After you import Letterboxd data, your watch history stays available locally — “hide watched” stays accurate when you refresh or come back.
The opening, faster Letterboxd, and a warmer bar
The animated Perfery opening card and the gold-accent top bar arrived here. Letterboxd imports feel faster: your watched count shows up immediately, return visits skip the long wait, and slow days on Letterboxd’s end are less likely to strand you.
Theater-dark home and sharper curation
Perfery now opens like a title card — dark charcoal, subtle grain, then a clean cream surface for your picks. Once recommendations land, the hero tucks away so results stay front and center. Swapping suggestions works column by column, and icons for remove and swap are clearer.
Welcome to the new Perfery
The cinematic home experience — the dark hero, film texture, and your first recommendations — with a layout tuned for phones as well as desktop.
Where the new direction started
We locked in the previous look so we could go all-in on the theater-inspired design you see today. Everything after this date is part of that new Perfery.