We reviewed the following websites this week:
urbandirty.com: REALLY edgy stuff. Most of the photos have a really dark feel to them. Again, not exactly the look I’m going for with my own website, but very artistic. The website has a cool, gothic look to it with the black background.
flickr.com, best textures group: This site was really well laid out with the textures at the top of the page and a discussion board running across the bottom. There was a really cool image that showed a bunch of ropes knotted that I really liked.
deviantart.com: Not quite as dark as the stuff on urbandirty.com, but still had a decidedly dark feel. In a good way. The gray background works nicely with the brooding sort of feel to the site.
textureking.com: This site had a LOT of textures to choose from and definitely a more upbeat vibe. I like the use of tables and the orange accents on this site.
grungetextures.com: I think the best thing about this site is the name. Anything that contains the term “grunge” is going to make me take a second look because it reminds me of what was popular in my own youth. So i think that was good marketing in terms of connecting with the gen-X demographic. Oh yeah, and the textures available weren’t half bad either. I was surprised to see the use of brown/earth tones in this site. It just was not what I envisioned when I heard the word “grunge.”
smashingmagazine.com, grunge style: This site was a definitive work of grunge style with separate sections for fonts, icons, textures, etc. Each section had examples and links (many of which were part of this week’s websites). A really easy to use site.
vandelaydesign.com: Lots and lots of tutorials for creating textures. Really easy to use site.
modernlifeisrubbish.co.uk: This site profiled top web cliches and the current top trends for web design. In the current trends list I can say two that I truly hate are the cartoon character graphics and the oversize RSS icons. I guess depending on what kind of web site you’re putting together that might be a look that represents what you are is trying to convey, but I just think they look unprofessional. I’m reminded somehow of clowns that wear ridiculously large shoes.
smashingmagazine.com, web tutorials: LOTS of tutorials for creating web 2.0 effects. I particularly like the ones on gradients. I really like the look of these on web sites.
modernlifeisrubbish.co.uk, screen resolutions: I get that this is a relevant article because the novice web designer may not realize that you have to take into account that viewers will be using monitors of different sizes when viewing a site. I just wish we had a more current article (I think this one is circa 2007) that also takes into account the widespread use of handheld devices today. I have a friend who cannot seem to stand it that I have a cell phone that I in fact only use to make phone calls (and text), and not surf the web. So I’m guessing I’m in the minority. Are big PC’s going to become a thing of the past for most computer users?