When It Comes to Web 2.0, Why You Gotta Be Hatin'?
February 25 / 11PM
It's been said that for every culture, there's a counter-culture. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction, right? The latter effect against highly stylized and uber-modern Web 2.0 design (for unfortunate lack of a better phrase) has been swift. And in large part, I believe, unjustly served.
I've got designers telling me that if they see another gradient, another cute gel icon ... another 24px Trebuchet header for god's sake, they're throwing in the towel.
Perhaps you're sick of it too. But ask yourself: does it work?
A good designer needs to work above trends, above what's fashionable. A good designer mustn't incorporate or consider style for style's sake. A good designer must ... design good. That is, he must motivate the user to go, to do, to click "Next", to subscribe or sign up, to sell the product.
Good design is not about what's pretty or popular or the next big thing. It's also not about looking hip to your design colleagues because you happen to be bucking the trend du jour. Doing so only means you wind up designing for the trend demain.
Ben Hunt (of webdesignfromscratch.com) lays out the key touchstones of Web 2.0 design:
- Simple layout
- 3D effects, used sparingly
- Soft, neutral background colours
- Strong colour, used sparingly
- Cute icons, used sparingly
- Plenty of whitespace
- Nice big text
It doesn't get much simpler than that. What's the point? These elements work. Don't buck a trend just because you want to be different. Be above the trends and counter-trends. Recognize what works. And utilize it the best way you can.
In Ben's words, "I'm glad to say that web design in 2006 is better than ever ... more web designers know more about how to design than ever before."
Here here.
Read this article but come back, won't you?
In it, Mr. Hunt discusses why gradients, supersized text, and ultra slick gradient-laden starburst icons are pretty damn cool. And how they really go beyond style for style's sake.
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Comments
web | February 27, 2006 02:49 PM
That's what I’m saying! Comic Sans works too .. it works for thousands of lost doggies and yard sales. The "designer" in all of us always wants to push that envelope of familiarity when sometimes its not needed/wanted. Why do logos always tend to be on the top left hand corner of a page? ..because we are trained to look there for it. Point is .. if something ain't broke -- don't fix it.web | February 28, 2006 02:53 PM
Along the same lines .. look at this. Tis an article about giving/getting design critique. Very good.Mike | March 7, 2006 04:09 PM
I saw that. My boss could definitely use that as a "how-to" manual on giving a good crit. When she doesn't like something, typical feedback is "that sucks" or "that's ugly", etc. Details, people! I need details!