Web 2.0 Design Backlash Brewing?
We’ve become very familiar with the various design techniques that make up the “Web 2.0 Design Style”. Rounded corners, excessive use of gradients, over-sized icons and type, image reflections, and the like are now so popular that articles list these design techniques as essential for joining Web 2.0 revolution. These trends are so well identified and dissected that you can even type your name into the Web 2.0 logo generator to attain Web 2.0 flair without any knowledge of design at all.
It seems we are all very excited about the great new technology and design that has created this miniature revolution on the web. The pitfall of such revolutions is that we run the risk of falling so head over heals in love with our new trends that we stop questioning why they are so wonderful, or if they are actually as wonderful as we think. We begin to imitate not communicate.
Shaun Inman has redesigned his web site recently in reaction to the Web 2.0 frenzy. His concept for his design is the passage of time, but the design consciously departs from many Web 2.0 trends. He uses a term I myself used last July when describing my goals for the design of this site; Web 2.No. Though Inman still uses over-sized type, a familiar trend of popular Web 2.0 sites, his design concept is engaging and creative. It transcends being just a style, and is a concept. The designers we tend to hold in high esteem like Jason Santa Maria, Joshua Davis, and Hillman Curtis all consistently forgo reliance on the vice of trendy styles for strong concepts, which is why we continually revisit their work for inspiration.
The Web 2.0 revolution has done great things for the web industry, inspiring design, technology, publicity, and injecting new energy into our work. There will soon come a point, though, where we will have to let go of our infatuation in order to build the next revolution that will propel us forward.