Posts Tagged ‘web 2.0’

Lately I have been searching for websites that really are different than the millions of other sites on the web. And while not having a web 2.0 aesthetic has been part of my search, I am beginning to wonder if I should now add grunge to that list. Is grunge becoming the new reflected image? are designers reaching back to the grunge style to fill the void left by the backlash against all that is glossy. I think that there has always been a good number of grungy designs on the web (this blog included) but now I think that it is starting to gain popularity because it is the exact opposite, dirty and textured. So what do you the reader think, should I filter out the grungy sites from this series as well?

Today I was thinking about what is referred to as the “digg effect” and how awesome it would be if my blog finally made that jump to the digg homepage. Like most people who have came close to making the front page of dig know, as some point fear takes over. “Will I run out of bandwidth, Will my host turn off my account?” Then for some reason I recalled an article I recently read about Denial of Service Attacks, and how your server can be crashed by hackers utilizing these attacks. Where this gets interesting though, is when you think about how a web server could be attacked at the same time that an article of page is pushed to the front of dig or a similar social bookmarking site.

I have been stumbling across some amazing websites lately that have successfully kicked the “web 2.0” aesthetic so I thought that it was time to make another post in my series. The original two posts in the series can be found here (post 1) and here (post 2).

Maybe you have been in the same position as me lately, picture the following example. Your potential client comes to you looking for a website. They express their concerns regarding being able to update the content, the people they would like to reach, and what they would like their site to accomplish. However they have not mentioned the other majority of the project. Who will be responsible for organizing all of their company’s information, and who will be responsible for the upkeep? While the client is convinced that they need a website, they do not realize the commitment that a site can be.

In my article Why the Web is Killing Creativity in Design I argued that the so called “web 2.0” aesthetic has actually caused more problems than good for designers. This article proved to be a huge success and has been one of the most popular articles I have written for Positive Space. Earlier today, reader Robert Ross posted an amazing response in support of my post that comes along with 40 years of experience. His response is amazingly well written, so well in fact that I felt it was deserving of its own post. This response also reinforces the idea that if we as designers really want to utilize our talents to their fullest we should create the opportunity for ourselves, which Robert has done this through his website Raw Food Life.

Well, I do not want to turn this blog into a site devoted to endless lists full of links, however I was called out when I wrote my first article about designs that do not have the typical “web 2.0” aesthetic. Here is the comment from Adam that led to this sequel:

Recent discussions on this blog regarding the nature of web design, the 2.0 look, and where we should be taking inspiration from has led me to write this post with 10 of my favorite sites that do not look at all like the stereotypical web 2.0 site. I hope that this short grouping of sites can help explain to those who did not understand me before what type of sites I have been referencing. This is by no means a complete list, and there are new ones being added every day but these are definitely some of the best.