In all fairness, BWG was one of the original respected gallery sites on the web but there’s been a massive explosion in recent years and there’s some very notorious sites that have come along and probably blown this out of the water, Site Inspire and Awwwards, just to name a few.
There’s a lot of repetition within these galleries and the author has probably thought… what’s the point?
There’s also some very damning and negative feedback left within BWG that comes from what appears to be elitist opinions and it can become very tiresome.
I certainly seek web inspiration elsewhere these days. Best Web Gallery has always been an elitist title for me anyway.
@Carl – did you not just post a few days ago “Removed from bookmarks, Adios folks!” and now you are back on here reading comments as well as responding? To me that is funny.
Calm down? I could care less if you come to the site or not, I was simply pointing out the irony that you said you were never coming back, then came back the next day and wrote an article.
Stop being so damn melodramatic. If you don’t like the design just say why. Why do you all make it so emotional?
Design is a logical process so why can’t you be logical instead of saying dumb shit like “BWG is dead OMFG OH NOES TEH WORLDS IS NIGH”. Get a grip. If you don’t like the site, just don’t come here anymore.
Spend more time talking about the design and less time bitching at each other.
(I realise the irony of this post is that I am bitching at you people rather than talking about the design.)
In regards to the design. While decent it does feel like something that is fairly standard lately. Obviously it is not a bad design at all and probably accomplishes what the designers and company set out to do (sell their product). The typography is simple and effective and doesn’t take over the design like many sites I have seen lately.
Colour wise it is pretty spot on but it lacks any specific character. I can see they there is an idea of character in the icons in the “Explore Assistly” section on the home page but it isn’t followed through with at all on any other pages it seems.
Perhaps if they had expanded on some sort of character it could have turned this seemingly decent design into a stand out one.
Shows how many people actually read the comments list… for the third time, I am pretty sure BWG is getting re-designed….
No this is not confirmed, but Nick mentioned a while back on Twitter he wanted to re-design it.
Remember as well, we are all on this gallery commenting on work, being added by a guy who is doing this as a free service, for the users (US) enjoyment to see new design work.
So if he wants to take a break to refresh it and make it better, I say good, let him. Hopefully the new site will achieve the same level of quality resource as the current one, and keep us all coming back on a regular basis.
I agree with most of your points Rob however I’d be more inclined to suggest Nick runs this site as business rather than a free service to us. He sells advertising space (as specified on the about page) I imagine to generate revenue and cover costs.
If it is run as a business perhaps a quick message such as “Best Web Gallery is in the process of an upgrade…” would put this issue to rest.
58 Comments
I have to agree with most of the other comments: it looks nice and polished, but not original.
In all fairness, BWG was one of the original respected gallery sites on the web but there’s been a massive explosion in recent years and there’s some very notorious sites that have come along and probably blown this out of the water, Site Inspire and Awwwards, just to name a few.
There’s a lot of repetition within these galleries and the author has probably thought… what’s the point?
There’s also some very damning and negative feedback left within BWG that comes from what appears to be elitist opinions and it can become very tiresome.
I certainly seek web inspiration elsewhere these days. Best Web Gallery has always been an elitist title for me anyway.
BYE… see you on the other side.
Haha, I love it when people do not read comments
I am pretty sure BWG is getting re-designed…
@Carl – did you not just post a few days ago “Removed from bookmarks, Adios folks!” and now you are back on here reading comments as well as responding? To me that is funny.
Calm down Rich, so I can’t return to a site to see if anything has changed and contribute?
People change their minds fella but there’s one thing for certain, this site hasn’t changed and neither has it’s people
I won’t say goodbye because I may return as I often bump into people once I’ve said goodbye on the street…
Calm down? I could care less if you come to the site or not, I was simply pointing out the irony that you said you were never coming back, then came back the next day and wrote an article.
The feeling is mutual
Stop being so damn melodramatic. If you don’t like the design just say why. Why do you all make it so emotional?
Design is a logical process so why can’t you be logical instead of saying dumb shit like “BWG is dead OMFG OH NOES TEH WORLDS IS NIGH”. Get a grip. If you don’t like the site, just don’t come here anymore.
Spend more time talking about the design and less time bitching at each other.
(I realise the irony of this post is that I am bitching at you people rather than talking about the design.)
In regards to the design. While decent it does feel like something that is fairly standard lately. Obviously it is not a bad design at all and probably accomplishes what the designers and company set out to do (sell their product). The typography is simple and effective and doesn’t take over the design like many sites I have seen lately.
Colour wise it is pretty spot on but it lacks any specific character. I can see they there is an idea of character in the icons in the “Explore Assistly” section on the home page but it isn’t followed through with at all on any other pages it seems.
Perhaps if they had expanded on some sort of character it could have turned this seemingly decent design into a stand out one.
This place is due for some fresh picks!
‘I like them french-fried taters’…
Agreed, it’s been almost 2 weeks – what’s up?
I’m so over this, no updates huh? Lets share some stuff we’ve seen lately.
Some sites that I’ve been impressed with of late—hope some of these are new to you:
M
http://www.girlfriendnyc.com/
http://buzzchips.com/
http://absolutepost.com/
@Mark – You may need a new calendar, friend. Try 6 weeks…
Shows how many people actually read the comments list… for the third time, I am pretty sure BWG is getting re-designed….
No this is not confirmed, but Nick mentioned a while back on Twitter he wanted to re-design it.
Remember as well, we are all on this gallery commenting on work, being added by a guy who is doing this as a free service, for the users (US) enjoyment to see new design work.
So if he wants to take a break to refresh it and make it better, I say good, let him. Hopefully the new site will achieve the same level of quality resource as the current one, and keep us all coming back on a regular basis.
Let’s just wait and see eh
Exactly. Well put Rob.
I agree with most of your points Rob however I’d be more inclined to suggest Nick runs this site as business rather than a free service to us. He sells advertising space (as specified on the about page) I imagine to generate revenue and cover costs.
If it is run as a business perhaps a quick message such as “Best Web Gallery is in the process of an upgrade…” would put this issue to rest.
@Rich – I think bringing up a point on revenue gain from advertising is valid, however kind of splitting hairs
What I was referring to was simply that he is not charging us, the viewers to use the site.
However I do agree that some form of note might be a good solution to let people know the situation.
Maybe Nick lost/forgot his WP username/password…
@Rob Sorry mate wasn’t trying to bring you down was just trying to add something to relevant to the conversation.
@KWNRD Ha ha
@Rich haha no prob’s, and totally agree about the notification.
BWG redesign is the new Textmate 2