Web Design and Green Marketing

Green, or eco-friendly products are the newest marketing challenge for web designers. Unlike traditional "green" products that were typically dowdy, the new green products feature designer labels and cutting edge design. How can web designers meet the needs of this sophisticated new market?

A new article in our web design guide shows a successful web design for a new design driven green product. It outlines our key strategies in creating a successful green web site. You can view the article by following this link.

Designer's Food . . .

Only a web designer who loves letterforms and typography could fully appreciate the humor (and skill) that produces a whimsical item such as this! I would love to have one on my desk! See more illustrated fruit on Sarah King's web page.

Masters of Design 2007

Nowadays, it is rare to see any manufacturer producing a bad product. The quality differences between the best and the worst in any market are slimmer than ever. What does distinguish a standout product is design. This is especially so in web design, where design plus content equals product. Fast Company, one of my favorite business magazines (click here to preview), provides an annual Masters of Design issue that explores the impact of design on business. The 2007 issue explores the best examples of interactive web design, and interviews current design masters.. A worthy read for any web designer and those who employ them!

Those Were The Days . . .

One of the great reasons to visit Phoenix, Arizona this summer was the recent "Curves of Steel" exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum (discussed in a recent blog). This exhibit celebrated the "streamlined" design trend in automobiles of the 1930's. I revisited this show on its final day, to marvel again at the sheer beauty of the automobile designs on display. This was the sort of show where, as a designer, I found myself grinning uncontrollably for the duration of my visit. The sheer depth of style and elegance inherent in these classic automobile designs from the 1930's made me realize that beauty, refinement and style as design principles are losing their significance in modern graphic design. It is a sad loss too. Good taste used to be (and not so long ago) a sign of education and culture. It was something aspired to. Now, our design vocabulary is more often punctuated by words like shock, street, extreme . . . we seem more interested in assaulting public sensibilities with the coarsest elements of our culture. Good taste has suffered a terrible beating and may never recover. It is a trend seen not only in design, but also in music, movies and television programming. Sigh . . . It may well be that truly good design is becoming a thing of the past . . .

CBS News has an online video on the "Curves of Steel" exhibit that gives a nice overview of the event. The photo above shows one of the most beautiful and popular cars of the decade, the 1939 Lincoln Zephyr.

Designer Toast?

Target Stores, the design conscious discount retailer, has always had a keen eye for great design. It understands that consumers looking for a great price do want great design as well. Target.com has a product that shows how something as commonplace as toast can be made more creative. This toaster, marketed by Target, adds a bit of whimsy to the normally mundane task of toast in the morning. The plates included with the toaster each adds a graphic design element that raises toast to the level of art (well, maybe not quite art). A nice way to use design to add a new dimension to a commonplace product!

From Auto Design to Boutique Hotels . . .

The designers of two of the most exotic automobiles in the world, Ferrari and Maserati, have now designed a hotel, The Keating in San Diego. You can clearly see the automobile design heritage of Pininifarina in The Keating. It is an interesting study of how expertise in one design discipline is applied to another. In this case, the transfer design skills results in a unique design statement and visual showcase.

In a similar way, when a graphic designer migrates to web design, you can see the print design heritage clearly in their approach. Sometimes the end result is good, sometimes not! The key is knowing what principles of print design are best left behind, and what should be kept. Also, a clear understanding of web technology helps a designer understand the creative limitations of working on the web.

World's Best-Designed Newspapers

I have always felt that web designers can benefit from studying the best examples of design in other disciplines. Newspaper design is one such example. The Society for News Design has selected four newspapers (from 351 worldwide candidates) as the "World's Best-Designed Newspapers." This creative competition judges newspapers on design excellence including typography. The judges, meeting in Syracuse, New York, selected four European newspapers as their winners. The Society for News Design website features the results and the basis for selection. This is worth the attention of web designers, as newspapers, like content rich websites, must show a mastery of layout and typography. My personal favorite among the winners is the German Frankfurter Aligemeine Sonntagszeitung for its inventive use of graphics and airy typography.