January 2005 Winners
Saturday January 29th, 2005
Malarkey's awards are like buses. You wait for ages, then two come along at once ;). And this one makes me wish I'd paid attention in German classes.
A muted colour palette, interesting Flash menu and an unconventional layout combine to make a site which feels well crafted. A quick look under the hood (and the nifty PHP style-sheet writing) leaves you feeling good too.
No more to say except this one is a must see!
Reviewed by Andy Clarke :: Comments (9)
Friday January 28th, 2005
After the success with éS Footwear and ThirtyTwo you'd think the hotcrew would have earned themselves a permanent Hawaiian surf vacation. Instead they seem to be working harder than ever and can now almost call WSA their second home.
Etnies is a sleek blend of flash spots and well organised xhtml strict where the main layout is used with a different colour theme on each section. And yes, I'm really trying to avoid calling it a template... :)
I also really like the design of some of the sneakers. The tanned Arto for example, US size 12, is looking mighty fine.
Reviewed by Johan Edlund :: Comments (4)
Wednesday January 26th, 2005
My first award for 2005 and one with a slight 'agenda'. There have been some designers who implement designs using web-standards who have recently been talking more about design and using standards as a 'means to an end', rather than 'an end in themselves'. I hope that this will be the year when stunning creative design and standards-based code become 'just the way that things are done'.
When creative designs are implemented using web-standards, everyone wins, and this site is a perfect example. Gorgeous visuals, clever touches and a (mostly) intelligent use of Flash. Sure, the navigation is visible only with Flash enabled, but this can be easily fixed with a little replacement content. Perhaps,
<ul id="nav-main">
etc.
</ul>
#nav-main {
position : absolute;
top : -10em;
}
There are some sites that make me think I wish I'd done that!
This site is one of them, what more is there to say?
Oh, a belated Happy New Year!
Reviewed by Andy Clarke :: Comments (10)
Friday January 21st, 2005
You mightn't like the high contrast starkness of version 7.0, but you have to admire the rigorous thought and planning that Khoi Vinh has put into the latest iteration of his personal blog.
An exercise in grids to the nth degree, Khoi has a knack for making tight hierarchical layouts. I was a little underwhelmed on my first visit, but as you browse through the site his personal touches such as focus area highlighting and imaginative information design (check the monthly archives) come together to make a well executed site.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (3)
Thursday January 13th, 2005
Rammstein's performances are nothing if not dramatic, and in suitable fashion their web site made a lasting impression upon our judges.
Its finely wrought grunge and unusual interface won them over, though it only just managed to outpace the technical perfection of Subtraction and Etnies' inviting streetwear shopping. That the site was built for the music industry -- a sector notoriously overladen with Flash glory houses -- was also a point well noted.
Congratulations to bit_design on the first gold star of 2005!
More...
Reviewed by Johan Edlund :: Comments (9)