Liking the Un-Swiss feel

Came across this site after googling "best web site designs" (thanks, Steve). The descriptive words they gave it were:Aged, Bold, Bright, Colorful, Flash, Handwriting, Illustration,Painterly, Paper, Texture. Along with all of the fun flash up top (well-done flash, that is)), I got pretty quickly what this musician Jason was like. We have so many tools to convey just about anything we want to say!

Effective use of color and format

I found Design Army referenced in the Print Regional Design Annual for this year (BTW, it's a very good collection). While the product photography seems a bit small, I really do like the minimal yet dynamic use of 2 colors (black and red). I also like the sense of "being inside" this site's space. I suppose the strong black background contributes to this. Wonder what a different color in the background would feel like?

A feast of good design

Joe Duffy (and partners) is an agency that puts out simply outstanding design. I recommend their site to you not only because the site is put together pristinely (really like the gentle fade between product shots...such a nice transitional feel), but really more so you can browse their work. Really good stuff...

Can you believe it?

Hey everybody.  I've just spent about an hour browsing a CA Design annual.  Can you believe that I did not find my way to ONE sight that impressed me in an unusual way?  There's a lot of the same "good" stuff out there, but as we continue through the semester, I find I'm looking for things more unique or more original.

Also, I was amazed at how many clients have hired someone to produce award-winning design for all kinds of print promo (that finds its way into the likes of Print or CA), but then don't follow through on their websites!  There's lots of work out there people!

I will continue to look for an interesting website, and will get one posted asap.  In spite of trying, it's just not happening for me today.

A simple, effective technique

I was once again attracted to a photographer's site via their award-winning photos in the April/09 edition of Print.  Jacob Silberberg's site is pretty unadorned (letting the photos take center-stage), but I was impressed with a technique that is so simple, yet I haven't seen it done before.  Check out how he displays his successive photos not from top-to-bottom, but rather from left-to-right.  Paul's been coaching us about the width of our sites in terms of the viewer's browsing environment.  This site pretty much ignores that and lets the material run on (left to right) indefinitely... I like it!