Lets Look Back Before We Reboot the Web Again

Well May 1st is rapidly approaching and that means that the CSS Reboot is about to happen. With only a little over a month and a half to go I have begun planning the next version of Positive Space. As many of you may know, I originally launched this blog in late December and it was my first attempt at a Wordpress blog. I was amazed to see that I immediately began pulling a rather large amount of traffic, so much so that I had to move servers within a month to obtain more bandwidth. Even after the move, I have seen my Alexa rank rise to 261,362 from nothing in less than 3 months.

All this adds up to the fact that I rapidly outgrew my original design in a very short amount of time. Rather than rush to launch another half though out version of the site, I have decided to plan some new features and participate in the upcoming CSS Reboot. In the process of looking back to where this site started and where I am going to be headed I decided to take a look back at the last reboot and see what were in my opinion some of the best redesigns. Some of you may notice I have listed some of these sites before. This was unintentional however I believe them to be the best so they get even more link love from me!

What is CSS Reboot?
From the CSS Reboot About Page:

The CSS Reboot is a community event for web professionals and enthusiasts. Every November 1st and May 1st at 18:00 GMT, Rebooters from all over the world launch their standards based website redesigns simultaneously; bringing traffic, interest and a little respect to their sites. There are no prizes or arbitrary winners, just great exposure and the knowledge that we all participated in something great.

So without further introduction here are the top 3 sites from the last CSS Reboot…

Electric Pulp
 http://www.electricpulp.com/

What isn’t there to love about electric pulp’s website? It is edgy, it has a well developed aesthetic, and it communicated its message very effectively. As soon as I visit this site I immediately relate with the personality of this firm and its members. Ultimately I am wowed by the quality of the work within the portfolio. This site eloquently balances effective presentation with style, in a way that most portfolios only dream to achieve.

Jesus Rodriguez Velasco
 http://www.jrvelasco.com/

I don’t know what there is to be said about this site that hasn’t been said before. This site basically reeks of style. The concept is extremely well developed and is just plain interesting, it is like nothing else on the web (and that’s a good thing).

Cabedge
 http://www.cabedge.com/

Ever since I first saw this site I pretty much fell in love with it. Conveying creativity without a being stereotypically “creative” is the best way that I can describe the Cabedge website. The interesting copywriting really helps this site stand out above the strength of its design. This site truly has every detail in place and conveys their positioning extremely well.

The Honorable Mentions:
These sites were not in my top 3 however still worth a mention.

Dulles Dodge Ball

Ordered List

A Lot to Live Up To
We can see from this small selection of sites that some of the most featured designs on the web were launched as a part of the last CSS Remix. This not only give some big shoes to fill for this May’s participants, but also has me wondering what amazing things we will see this time around. If you are planning on participating this time around I would love to hear from you in the comments below.