Monthly Archives: September 2008
Hindsight’s 20/20 Sep 22, 08
By now, everybody’s heard about (and commented extensively on) Microsoft’s $300 million campaign to rebrand Windows as a indispensable tool for a billions-strong community of like-minded individualists living a life without walls. The good people at CP+B have set the interwebs abuzz with criticism and praise for the campaign. Time will tell whether that buzz equals a successful campaign, but if history is any guide, the answer may be staring us in the face.
Fire up your flux capacitor and look back at the June 2008 issue of Fast Company—the issue with a smirking Alex Bogusky gracing the cover. By the time this issue hit the newsstands, many in the ad world had already heard about CP+B’s relationship with Microsoft and all the talk centered around what the campaign would look like. As it turns out, the answer lay in the opening spread of the feature article, pictured here:
That headline again? “Believe it or not, he’s a PC.” Theme theme of the recently-launched campaign? “I’m a PC.”
If only we’d know then what we known now…
Best of the Web? Sep 16, 08
The latest issue of Step Inside Design featuring the 2008′s Best of the Web should be on a newsstand near you now. After reading the issue and looking through their picks, I came away feeling disappointed that they’ve picked these 43 websites as the very best the web has to offer.
Of the winning selections, 28 are completely Flash-based sites, only eight are HTML-based (some of those are hybrid HTML/Flash sites), four are videos (including a PowerPoint posted to YouTube), two are reels and there’s one lonely banner.
I’ve created a little infographic (above) illustrating the relative number of entries for each category… and I have to ask again; does this really reflect the very best content the web has to offer? Judging purely on eye candy (aka function following form), maybe…. although a scan through the FWA will reveal many more worthy candidates. Thinking about it from the perspective of the sites you might visit for more than a few minutes and actually use on a daily basis, definitely not. And don’t get me started on including reels and videos as examples of good web design… did they get their entry forms confused?
There are so many sites that take complex data and interactions and boil them down to easy to use, elegantly designed interfaces—sites that don’t require pokey preloaders, “skip intro” and “enter site” links and “innovative” navigation schemes—sites like Evernote, Vimeo, the ubiquitous Twitter, Tumblr, and many, many more.
I know the judges are working with what they’re given, so it’s hard to knock them. Still, I’d like to see a better cross-section of the web in the future. Is it just me?
If you want to judge for yourself, here’s a list of all the winners:
Judge’s picks:
www.thinkaboutit.com (It looks like the domain registration has lapsed on this one), www.digitalvaults.org, www.hornallanderson.com
Flash:
www.adobe.com/creativelicense, www.anode.com, www.antics.com, http://bbbf.archrival.com, www.torkrevolution.com, www.290mulberry.com/#/Nolita, www.hbovoyeur.com, www.luminafoundation.org/latinos, www.mofo.com/career, www.ebd.com, www.shearsadkins.com, www.eyeballnyc.com, www.166perryst.com, www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/multimedia/interactive/infosecurity/index, www.bakemaniacakes.com, www.1201k.com, www.HL2.com, www.nsfclothing.com, www.virginfestival.com/2007/btb_sampler/pre/, www.cuspconference.com/2008, www.d4wgear.com/bc/d4w/index.html, www.groundinc.com, www.ge.com/innovation/nano, www.ge.com/innovation/aviation, www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=8703&x=7&f=177263
HTML:
www.aigadc.org/showoff, www.gallup.com, www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience, www.sciarc.edu, www.vulcanmotorclub.com, www.earthpledge.org, www.alaska.si.edu, www.poetryfoundation.org
Video:
www.antics.com/awards/Best_of_Web_2008/AMD/index.html, http://langtoncherubino.com/blog/2008/02/25/53/, www.nicespots.com/nicespots/webReels/index.php?webReelID=578&webReelShareEmailID=88&webReelShareID=1172, www.nicespots.com/shortURL.php?id=103018
Reel:
www.firebellydesign.com/animation_reel2007.php, www.hzdg.com
Banner:
www.client.struckcreative.com/skiUtah/banners/oldMan/index.html
Kitten vs Baby ’08 Sep 9, 08
I watched a few minutes of Adult Swim tonight and I was exposed to a whole crop of new (to me) commercials.
Given the political season and an inability to distract myself from the up-and-downs of the day-to-day drama, this spot easily caught my eye. After checking out each candidate’s site (kitten, baby) — I still have no idea what’s in store, but I’ll probably check it out on October 21st. It’s hard to top the absurdity of real-life politics, but it looks like they might come close.
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