I'll admit, I have no idea about anything on this site, not even what language it's in (Polish, Czech?), but it's a beautifully crafted piece of work. I just hope they're not selling used cars.
Unlike most book metaphor designs, the content on this site scales quite nicely at larger font sizes, particularly given the intricacy of its background and container.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (4)
The recent CSS Reboot produced a lot of action in our submissions box, but I would have to say that Matt Brett's site was the most polished and well constructed out of all of them. He continues the dark/grunge revival that's being supported by this latest batch of awardees, but he's hotted it up with the latest hip fluorescents.
Probably one of the most intriguing features of his site is the hover states on all the various content areas. They provide a good bit of focus for your cursor, particularly against the dark background. Another highlight is the way he's jigsawed all his interests into the layout -- flickr, blog entries, comments, currently-listening-to, video games, etc. Very tight.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (6)
I'm not going to say much about this site (which some of you might be thankful for) except to say that:
1. Inline JavaScript rollovers by Macromedia suck
2. It's really up to you what order you put your source in, but this one's slightly weird
Other than that, it's a nice, sharp little portfolio that Owen Johnston has put together here.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (3)
Just getting back into the swing of monthly awards, so we had a few candidates dating back to August for this round ... and it seems that experience wins out over youthful exuberance once again.
I don't think there's one of us that hasn't felt the effect of A List Apart in our work. Whether it lead us down the path of Standards, crystalised a web design principle in our minds, or simply showed us how to make a print stylesheet, its influence is far reaching and more than helpful. So it's fitting that an institution like this should have a design worthy of its stature.
The Jason Santa-Maria/Eric Meyer/Jeffrey Zeldman super team have produced a much talked about site that does what a good design should do -- make the content even better. Condolences to the team behind the Elan website (runners-up), but there's no stopping this juggernaut!
Reviewed by John Oxton :: Comments (21)
Shaun's site certainly stirred up a lot of discussion during a quiet period on the Standards scene. Whether you love it or hate it, the menu system which is the crux of his new design definitely broke the mold.
It's this combination of innovative interface design, graphical expertise and technical nous that impressed our judges enough to give it an across the board thumbs up.
Reviewed by John Oxton :: Comments (33)
In the search for the new, the fashionable and the -- sometimes painfully -- distinct, it is all too easy to overlook the established. Besides, for my first review I was looking for a site that typifies my feelings about what constitutes good, solid, standards-based design. It seems almost inevitable that I was going to look to a well respected designer.
Roger's is not a design that tries to mug your senses when you first arrive and for that reason it is all too easy to take it for granted. Spend a little time there, though, and the attention to detail starts to reveal itself, from the perfectly executed combination of elastic and liquid layout techniques, the tight typography, all the way through to a navigation set that reacts in all the right ways. The unassuming nature of the design is also it's biggest success; whereas many sites begin to grate a little after numerous visits, 456 Berea Street simply settles down as a comfortable backdrop to the excellent content.
Given the nature of that content, Roger can be pretty certain who his audience is and it would have been all too easy for him to ignore certain browsers, or dismiss lower screen resolutions but he has done neither. The result is a site that practices what it preaches and a look under the hood reveals almost obsessively tidy CSS and XHTML served as application/xhtml+xml for those browsers that can cope.
How many of us can say we've achieved that on our personal sites?
Reviewed by John Oxton :: Comments (5)
Cor blimey! This is getting out of hand, another site indebted to Jason Santa Maria’s iChat availability and Shaun Inman’s JavaScript shamanism
. This time, the geezer at the helm is Rob Weychert, a man with big ideas, big humour and an even bigger (Donegal) beard.
With many creative site designs impemented with web standards these days, my interest in this site was not in the wonders of its XHTML or even the magic potion that is its CSS.
I had the pleasure of spending time with Rob recently and I always thought that his XXL size character needed an XXL size site to bring his XXL size personality out through the page. Has this been achieved? I'll leave you to decide. Me...?
I'm in two minds. While the style of writing and quirky content certainly represent Rob, the visual style seemed at first slightly divorced from it. Then I re-read his about page, in which he says,
I’ve always loved the densely ornate editorial layouts from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and with this project, I challenged myself to achieve a comparable charm within the much more severe typographic limitations of the web.
The site's attention to detail is spectacular and is an eclectic mix of classic and contemporary typefaces and type treatments.
So, did Rob succeed in his aims? I think so. Is the site's visual design full-on 'Rob', I'm still a little unsure. Still, who am I to judge? :)
Reviewed by Andy Clarke :: Comments (0)
You know the great thing about personal sites? The graphics can have bugger all to do with the actual website.
John Oxton's site -- paradoxically called Joshuaink -- is not about a gardener, more about a web developer. But it is framed in such a lush cornucopia of greenery that you can't help but bask in the sun-warmed glow and breathe in the fresh air.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (0)
Sebastian Schmieg's site is all about texture; paper, concrete, paint, sticky tape. This visual/tactile experience is eptiomised by the unique header which looks like something painted on a rough concrete wall, then reproduced in a scrapbook.
The content is all neatly divided, whitespace and borders alternating to produce subtle but well planned sections, and the use of both serifed and sans-serif fonts -- alongside minuscule Victorian flourishes -- only adds to this site's feel, making you want to be able to reach out and feel it underneath your fingers.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (6)
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)
The last Silver Star of the year goes to the (very) personal site of Martin Smith for the excellent usage of bleached colours, left-aligned layout and clever, unusual navigation. I also really dig how each section is indicated by a "tab" on the left. Since the text is a bit on the light side I will make a silent wish in a couple of days for a way to increase the contrast a la Zeldman.
A very Happy New Year to everybody! Keep your markup lean, mean and valid in 2005!
Reviewed by Johan Edlund :: Comments (4)
Jeremy Koempel has been around the Standards scene for a while now. The previous design of his personal site had been featured elsewhere, but left me a little cold -- professional, but unfinished.
With this iteration I think he's hit the target. I'm always a sucker for red and grey, but with this design I think it's the imagery the Jeremy has used that really brings the site to life. Together with a clean, content focused layout (which isn't revolutionary, but does it need to be?), it creates an intimacy and atmosphere that was otheriwse devoid on version -1.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (2)
It's a site featuring stuff about Mr. T. It validates, has CSS and other web-standards stuff...
Oh bloody hell, it has Mr. T on every page too, OK?
There's some stuff in the code that isn't how I would choose to do it and I could get grumpy about <div>s called 'frontEntryTextMiddle', but the site made me smile and Mike Essl and Greg Rivera have done a great job. Oh, did I mention that site has Mr. T on it? Cue theme music... ;)
Reviewed by Andy Clarke :: Comments (6)
Lisa has crafted a beautifully detailed web page. Antiquated writing paper and a dark atmosphere gives it an old world feel, and the typography carries through the personal letter theme superbly. Small, but perfectly formed.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (4)
Noscope is the stylish and sleek online home for Danish designer Joen Asmussen. For some reason the design makes me think of the album Born Sandy Devotional by The Triffids. They both share a spacious feel while allowing for living, organic elements.
It's worth noticing how Joen has designed the header graphic to be a bit wider than the main content. To me this creates some positive tension to the page.
Another thing that struck me was the ugly white box around the search field up in the right corner. Why on earth would a good designer put that hideous thing there? Later I found the answer in Joen's Snacksized Usability Tips. I'm not sure who has concluded that you should have a white box around the search field, but a safe bet would be to suggest another Dane.
Reviewed by Johan Edlund :: Comments (4)
It's good to see Web Standards penetrating areas that haven't normally been associated with web development. In this case, Evgeni Dinev's personal site is a glimpse at the Bulgarian version of CSS, and it's looking good.
Although he uses some popular design effects, the site brings them together well to create its own identity. The homepage illustration in particular is a striking contrast to the flowing lines of the interface, but the palette reinforces the imagery with a well worked fool's motley.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (5)
It's hard to pin down the feel. Op shop? Front porch? Scrappy notebook? Whatever it is, Left Justified has some nice little details -- soft textures, weathered dividers and wood panelling all add up to that undefinable atmosphere.
I did, however, find the front page weblog entries a bit confusing. They look a bit short until you realise that they're just extracts. A "continue reading" link might be handy.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (1)
Ahhhh ... with Dider Hilhorst, how can you go wrong?
His personal site brings us more of the style that we've become familiar with through Sinelogic and Superfluous Banter -- that smooth pixelism that's so easy on the eye.
Although limited in scope, this site gives you enough of an experience to acquaint you with Didier's style, should you be otherwise unaware of it; all, of course, in clean, Standards-compliant markup.
The only thing I'm not sure about is the omni-present Flash header, a curious addition which, due to its dominating presence, makes you feel like you haven't gone anywhere when you click to another section.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (5)
As Standards gradually make their way out of the "weblog only" phase of their development, people are beginning to take notice of the sites that push the boundaries of layout. Infosion's unusual but usable layout caught the eye of a few of our judges, but it's hard to beat a personal site that doesn't have commercial restrictions.
Justwatchthesky took out this month's Golden Star because it's simply too smooth to believe. The unusual palette has a way of capturing your imagination, yet it is blended so finely and flawlessly that it complements the content perfectly. Congratulations Ryan.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (13)
I like a site that has rivets, and blakems.com has plenty. The weblog of Blake Scarbrough, the site features plenty of Web development and Internet-related articles, all encased in a charmingly retro-industrial-aged-machine look.
The background images in the header add to the antique-techno feel, and feature some good CSS for PNG compatibility cross-browser.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (1)
I visited right after his redesign and some rendering problems in Firefox put me off. I'm not sure whether it was just my computer or some bugs he fixed, but now his site is browser friendly and tasty to boot!
Rounded corners (so 2004 :o] ), his trademark colour swatches and that magnificently detailed photography all lend themselves to creating a magazine-style pages that work. I'll forgive him the inline styles.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (5)
It's big, it's yellow and it's the personal website of Firewheel Design founder, Josh Williams. While most CSS sites go for muted colour pallets, this site is a veritable colour riot. So settle down, put on your shades and check out this excellent personal site.
Reviewed by Andy Budd :: Comments (5)
RAD.E8 is the beautiful personal site of Sascha Höhne. The attention to detail on this site is excellent. From the icons and nav styles to the alternating header graphics (just hit refresh) this is a really slick site. Enjoy.
Reviewed by Andy Budd :: Comments (0)
It took a while to tabulate the votes, but they're in for the WSA April site of the month. In a closely fought contest, the weblog stylings of Alazanto just pipped Es Footwear's slick commercial feel. Maybe it's just our judges' bias against those skater punks who play their music too loud, but no doubt Kevin deserves the win.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (34)
Reviewed by Andy Budd :: Comments (5)
"What Do I know" is the beautiful personal site of designer Todd Dominey. Todd's site was one of the first CSS sites I came across that really inspired me. The design is clean, simple and understated. The typographic elements combine with the layout and colour scheme to invoke — in my mind — the image of an elegant, Victorian era periodical. This site is about great content, and the design and typography do everything in their power to make reading this site a joy.
Reviewed by Andy Budd :: Comments (18)
I'm not in the habit of awarding weblogs, but I couldn't pass this one up. Recently re-designed, Sam Royama's weblog on design is beautifully rendered.
Great header images, menu elements, those lovely tabs and even style switching give the site real visual impact; a style all its own. This is on top of the great content that Sam also puts up.
A couple of tips: the code could be a bit more semantic, and anchor tags should be separated by more than whitespace.
Reviewed by Cameron Adams :: Comments (3)
Stop Design is the personal website of Douglas Bowman and has been around, in one form or another, since 1998. However despite it's age, this site is still one of the tightest, best executed, standards based sites around. A site worthy of a Web Standards Award in anybody's book.
Update by Johan, June 14th, 2004:
Douglas Bowman presents a new version of Stop Design — Phase II — and the first thing that you'll notice is that the fluid layout has been exchanged for a fixed width layout. Phase II has a very tight design with spectacular abstract imagery, excellent typography and lots of content.
(Comments 1-21 refer to the original design of Stop Design)
Reviewed by Andy Budd :: Comments (21)
This site has been around for a while, but it still managed to impress. The typography is tight, the colour scheme fresh and the content superb. The site also has some really nice touches like the expandable right hand menu and live comment preview. Great Stuff.
Reviewed by Andy Budd :: Comments (15)
The second month of the Web Standards Awards, and controversy abounds. The monthly judges were evenly split into two camps, requiring us to invoke our emergency tie breaking procedures. So, after the dust of two rounds of thumb wrestling had settled, only one site stood victorious: jasonsantamaria.com. Condolences go to Adaptive Path for a close second; you guys should already know how good you are.
Reviewed by Johan Edlund :: Comments (27)
There are a lot of well designed weblogs out there, so it takes quite a bit to impress us here at the WSA. However Shaun's new design defiantly hit the spot for me when it launched last week. On first inspection, It's essentially a very simple design. However it's the special touches such as faux form widgets that set this site apart. Very smart.
Reviewed by Andy Budd :: Comments (32)