Archive for web design
Inspiration – Daniel Gray
December 8th, 2011
I tweeted about this website only yesterday, but having paid it yet another visit today, I thought it was deserving of an individual post. Daniel Gray is a designer and writer based in York, and has been putting his thoughts online since 2004. His website, and the work it presents, is a masterclass of minimalism, with just enough of everything where it needs to be.
The site has a great atmosphere about it, and I couldn’t help but smile as I navigated around its various pages. Daniel’s numerous visual experiments on his blog are also fantastic, and worthy of most portfolios. I urge you to pay the site a visit to get a feel for its subtle charm, and chip-in your opinion on lab-coats and comics.
First discovered thanks to Sixrevisions.
Inspiration – Scott Carmichael
September 29th, 2011
I stumbled across this portfolio website for illustrator Scott Carmichael by accident this morning, and was immediately struck by its elegant simplicity. Comprising merely a sidebar and sliding gallery, I think it does a fantastic job of expressing everything it needs to quickly and quietly, while still managing to convey a unique character through colour, composition, and a hint of texture.
Too often I feel designers want to force meaning into their work by adding extra layers and shine, when a simple execution like this can be just as, if not more, effective.
See the site for yourself, along with Scott’s excellent work at Scottdraws.com
Hard Graft – Little Details
September 16th, 2011
It’s no secret that i’m an admirer of the handy work of product designers Hard Graft, and while browsing their website a little earlier today I found a further hallmark of their impressive eye for detail, this time, in the design of their online shop.
When hovering over the icon designated for adding items to your basket, the price label gently falls, as if to suggest the action of ‘dropping’ in. It’s only a small detail, but I tend to appreciate thoughtful little touches like this far more than extravagant visuals or effects, and this example makes great use of a little bit of CSS3 to make an otherwise standard action a little more engaging.
Try it out for yourself on the Hard Graft site.