I think the site looks good, subtle borders and contrasts make for a beautiful site, similar to many other typography based sites.
There doesn’t need to be flashy colours and vector art everywhere to make it a beautiful or creative site. Scaling back on common elements can sometimes make things stand out somewhat.
DanC: True – “scaling back on common elements can sometimes make things stand out somewhat” – but in this case it didn’t work. With every element having all too much ‘in common’ it’s barely legible.
I am hoping that maybe the heading styles (for each post) aren’t rendering for some reason? Something has to not be functioning properly. At least I hope this is the case because otherwise I’m at a loss for words.
This site is far too minimal in styling.
Not having a clearly defined link structure should make this site fail in the usability department and never be featured here. I thought it was common sense in web design?
I’m all for creating beautiful monochromatic themed sites but this fails hard. I really like how some elements are being handled but the lack of body text styling is too hard to overlook. Give this some H2′s, H3′s and p classes to help distinguish various elements/points on each page.
I don’t know how this was chosen to be showcased here.
FYI: the h1 header styles show up as serif in Firefox 3/IE8 and san-serif in IE 7 for me. Time to apply the “master class styling with CSS” techniques to those headers!
Otherwise, it’s certainly not a ‘bad’ site by any means – just simple and not as memorable as the others in the “best of” category.
Although I designed this things for myself, rather than for other people, I do appreciate the constructive feedback — thanks.
When I get back from the trip I’m doing, I’ll look at working on some of the issues that you raised and I’m certainly going to add Cufon to the main headers. That thing looks cool.
You’re a real class act, and your ability to take the piled on and heavy criticism with such a thick skin speaks volumes of your character. By even acknowledging the commenters here with such restraint, you’ve garnered my respect. To be humble enough to actually turn that criticism into actionable steps for improving this design, that is in its own way inspiring.
I like it, but that’s probably because it reminds me of a site I built ( http://www.jktotalcreations.com ). Unfortunately the site I built was not accepted here
25 Comments
I don’t mind minimalism, but this is just plain boring.
Also, the larger font-sizes look horrible on everything but Safari due to the lack of smoothing.
I don’t particularly like the colours either, but purple IS hard to work with. Very simple, almost too simple, not much creativity needed here.
Yet I’ve seen worse.
For an attempt at keeping it mainly text based, I don’t think it’s too bad I guess. Overall though, it’s not really doin it for me.
When I think a “beautiful web,” I think color.
hummmm lol?
Defining where the freakin’ links are would be a start, rather than having to move your mouse over every element on the page. Fail.
I like it. It’s stripped back and minimalistic, certainly works well in my opinion.
Don’t you think that a class that teaches design skills should display their own skills through their site.
I think Andy Clarke is waaaay overrated. Talented no doubt, just overrated.
I think the site looks good, subtle borders and contrasts make for a beautiful site, similar to many other typography based sites.
There doesn’t need to be flashy colours and vector art everywhere to make it a beautiful or creative site. Scaling back on common elements can sometimes make things stand out somewhat.
DanC: True – “scaling back on common elements can sometimes make things stand out somewhat” – but in this case it didn’t work. With every element having all too much ‘in common’ it’s barely legible.
Beauty > Usability?
No.
Typography > Readability?
No.
Form > Function?
No.
This site is a slap in a face to all of the better sites that did not receive a “Best of” moniker.
I didn’t even notice that it got Best of. Wow
This is ridiculous.
I am hoping that maybe the heading styles (for each post) aren’t rendering for some reason? Something has to not be functioning properly. At least I hope this is the case because otherwise I’m at a loss for words.
This site is far too minimal in styling.
Not having a clearly defined link structure should make this site fail in the usability department and never be featured here. I thought it was common sense in web design?
I’m all for creating beautiful monochromatic themed sites but this fails hard. I really like how some elements are being handled but the lack of body text styling is too hard to overlook. Give this some H2′s, H3′s and p classes to help distinguish various elements/points on each page.
I don’t know how this was chosen to be showcased here.
Also,
#logo a, #logo a:link {outline:none;}
#nav-main a, #nav-main a:link {outline:none;}
The text is unreadable. There is nothing best of about this site at all.
FYI: the h1 header styles show up as serif in Firefox 3/IE8 and san-serif in IE 7 for me. Time to apply the “master class styling with CSS” techniques to those headers!
Otherwise, it’s certainly not a ‘bad’ site by any means – just simple and not as memorable as the others in the “best of” category.
well…at least it loads quickly
HI guys.
Although I designed this things for myself, rather than for other people, I do appreciate the constructive feedback — thanks.
When I get back from the trip I’m doing, I’ll look at working on some of the issues that you raised and I’m certainly going to add Cufon to the main headers. That thing looks cool.
Thanks again, take care,
Andy Clarke
@andy
You’re a real class act, and your ability to take the piled on and heavy criticism with such a thick skin speaks volumes of your character. By even acknowledging the commenters here with such restraint, you’ve garnered my respect. To be humble enough to actually turn that criticism into actionable steps for improving this design, that is in its own way inspiring.
I wish you all the best on your future endeavors.
To me, what shines through is the love of typography. Good designers understand. If they’re the target, he’s hit his mark.
My only criticism: all lowercase and a single background color can quickly grow tedious. Mix it up a little.
Absolutely love the search box focus effect and the link fade ins. Very cool!
I like it, but that’s probably because it reminds me of a site I built ( http://www.jktotalcreations.com ). Unfortunately the site I built was not accepted here