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A portion of the Linux
Central entry page. Designed by Gonzalo
De la Peņa Andreu (e-mail link). © Linux Central.
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Linux Central
Another retro look, but very different from the Maxfunds.com sample. I
have included only a small sample of the entry page here to allow some
of the details to show. You really should visit this site, designed by
Gonzalo De la Peņa Andreu (e-mail
link). Hand-drawn menu items and attention points through the site help
to provide a friendly look and easy access to important information. Note
how many information sections are included on this entry page, yet it
is not overwhelming because the page is so well laid out. If you are faced
with trying to present a great deal of information in different forms,
you should study the methods used on this page. This version of the site
was launched in January 2000. |
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Entry page for the Peachpit
Press site, designed in-house and launched in 1994. © Peachpit
Press.
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Peachpit Press
This has been one of my favorite sites for quite a while, and not a
wonder I have known it for a long time. It was introduced, with a similar
style, in 1994. That is not a typo—nearly 6 years ago. Some designers
wonder whether inspiration is a fancy word for copying. This site was
one of the main inspirations for my current
site. Compare the two sites and you will see why I do not worry
about copying when a great site inspires my design.
The Peachpit site is very casual. There is hardly a straight line anywhere,
yet observe how your eyes move through the site. You cannot be successful
at this style without very careful planning. Creative color breaks define
information areas. Geometric shapes work with table cell background
color blocks to create irregular shapes, providing energy with little
extra file size.
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Starbucks Coffee
entry page. Several designers had a hand in the final look. © Starbucks
Coffee.
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Starbucks Coffee
Hand-drawn illustrations, crooked borders, irregular color blocks—the
Starbucks entry page is very original. Yet, as we have seen with previous
examples, very easy to navigate. The colors are bold, yet the site does
not bowl you over when it lands on your screen. It is memorable and
exciting, but surprisingly gentle. Good balance, superb color interaction
and great planning is required to create a look like this one—
well worth practicing. And so appropriate for a coffee site.
We've seen the roughest of the rough, now lets look at sites that just
push the straight boundaries a bit.
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