AbsoluteB.com

If you ask me, Google.com is one of the best and ugliest looking sites on the web at the same time. It’s bare and raw simplicity and functionality make it so pleasant to look at and use, while at the same time, I can’t help but think, WTF? I could do a better job… couldn’t I? Google just works and does what it does best very, very well, and yet, by design standards, or at least by my own, it’s far from bring the most awe inspiring design I’ve ever seen. And yet, even though there are so many ways I could imagine improving the overall look of the site (all IMO of course), it’s a design which cannot be improved. Even the bezel and shadow on the logo on the home screen could almost be considered too tacky!

I bring this up because these past few days I have been exploring designing a search site in a lot of depth. It’s not something I’ve done before and it’s a very interesting and tricky situation I find myself in, it’s certainly one that intrigues and motivates me. Google, as cliche as it may sound, has been the standard to go by of course, but purely from a functional stand point. I’ve been giving a lot of thought as to whether it would be possible or not to design a search site in my own way… in a different way. …read the rest of this entry »

One of my favorite design studios, FI, or Fantasy Interactive. has given their website a face lift, and though it can hardly be called a redesign at all, I have to say that its a huge improvement on a design that was pretty much near perfect to begin with. I remember when FI launched their previous site, which replaced a design that was, in comparison, very flashy and inspiring, it was met with quite some criticism that it didn’t quite represent the company as it should have. That design incorporated a lot of 3D, dynamic Flash components and video and it was a whole new standard on its own. With the previous iteration of the site, things calmed down and the idea was to let FI’s work speak for itself, rather than the website itself. Given how the trend of web design is towards clean, sensible usability, which everyone seems to be following, only a few agencies like FI could go with those trends and still come out with something unique and special, and this face lift is such a breath of fresh air! …read the rest of this entry »

I always try to stay on top of things, regardless of what it is. Whether it be related to design, development, Internet, technology, economy, gadgets or automotive, I just wanna know it all! It’s in this way that I first read the rumor that Apple was probably about to launch a new mouse, and this while I had just bought a wireless Mighty Mouse. Not wanting to be stuck with old tech, I rushed back to the Media Markt electronics store and returned it within the 2 week period in which this was allowed and got a full refund. Two months later, sure enough, Apple launched the Magic Mouse and though I have yet to pick one up, I’m glad I’m not stuck with the soooo 2009 Mighty Mouse.

Among the many news/social sites and blogs that I visit daily, even hourly, CNN.com is definitely one of them, and recently the International news network launched a new site, which I have to admit took some getting used to, but having spent some time on the new site, I found the user experience to be much leaner and cleaner than the previous design. Like all new sites and designs I come across, I looked at it analytically, wondering if there was anything I would have done differently or if there was anything I could maybe learn from their new, (I’m assuming) well thought through design. Then I came across an interesting article on Web Designer Depot . It described the new layout, design and usability of the site and brought up some interesting points. Some of which I agree with, others I don’t so much. None the less, I thought it was worth sharing! …read the rest of this entry »