4 ms·

I believe that "Master class" is taking it a bit too far. The site has remained the same because there is no reason to update it. If the simplistic design was r

I believe that "Master class" is taking it a bit too far. The site has remained the same because there is no reason to update it. If the simplistic design was revolutionary or represented something other than "Don't fix what is not broken" they would be using the same format for their portfolio companies. The site gets the info out to the people that need it, nothing more nothing less. It's a good design for what they are trying to do however it's a terrible design for many other companies.

runawaybottle 7y ago
What would the author say about Shazam? Is it a master class that Shazam is one button you press and hold it up to a speaker? It’s the only possible form Shazam could take. Choosing the obvious form in a design exercises where the choices are already narrowed down for you isn’t really a profound example of simplifying a complex idea. The Mac OS dock might be a real master class, the Windows start bar (for it’s time, to some degree, before it get’s overwhelmed).
- jasonv 7y ago
  It was like that, but then they added a bunch of cruft and ads, and I deleted it from my phone.
  - cpach 7y ago
    You might want to try SoundHound then. It’s not cruft-free, but it’s quite usable.
  - donarb 7y ago
    Apple removed all advertising from Shazam after they bought it.
SilasX 7y ago
I agree Master Class is too much[1], but it's still better than most sites I deal with today: the information is easy to find, doesn't overload your browser, and plays nice with extensions. Plus, it's usable on mobile. Not optimized, sure, but at least it doesn't break my ability to use it on mobile: I can just zoom in as necessary. But that's more of an indictment of out-of-control web design that's all too common. [1] I think the author could plausibly mean "class" in the sense of "lesson", since he contrasts it with the other, newer site design and uses them to illustrate the difference purposes, but a) that's a bit of a stretch, and b) he never frames it as a lesson or uses the word "class" for the rest of the article.
- mercwear 7y ago
  +1 - most sites are bad and a lot of them do not introduce WHAT the product they are pitching does until below the fold.
MisterBastahrd 7y ago
The simplistic design is how websites used to be before designers felt the need to justify their existence. This has more in common with a gopher terminal than modern sites. Berkshire shareholders in particular already know why they're on the site. You can't buy a single share without a bucketload of cash. The performance of the company sells itself. Most modern websites just obfuscate information, but they still all just follow the leader with where they put information. Say you want to contact someone for customer support and you're on the homepage. Where do you go? To search the page footer for that information, of course.

runawaybottle 7y ago

What would the author say about Shazam? Is it a master class that Shazam is one button you press and hold it up to a speaker? It’s the only possible form Shazam could take. Choosing the obvious form in a design exercises where the choices are already narrowed down for you isn’t really a profound example of simplifying a complex idea. The Mac OS dock might be a real master class, the Windows start bar (for it’s time, to some degree, before it get’s overwhelmed).

jasonv 7y ago
It was like that, but then they added a bunch of cruft and ads, and I deleted it from my phone.
- cpach 7y ago
  You might want to try SoundHound then. It’s not cruft-free, but it’s quite usable.
- donarb 7y ago
  Apple removed all advertising from Shazam after they bought it.

SilasX 7y ago

I agree Master Class is too much[1], but it's still better than most sites I deal with today: the information is easy to find, doesn't overload your browser, and plays nice with extensions. Plus, it's usable on mobile. Not optimized, sure, but at least it doesn't break my ability to use it on mobile: I can just zoom in as necessary. But that's more of an indictment of out-of-control web design that's all too common. [1] I think the author could plausibly mean "class" in the sense of "lesson", since he contrasts it with the other, newer site design and uses them to illustrate the difference purposes, but a) that's a bit of a stretch, and b) he never frames it as a lesson or uses the word "class" for the rest of the article.

mercwear 7y ago
+1 - most sites are bad and a lot of them do not introduce WHAT the product they are pitching does until below the fold.

MisterBastahrd 7y ago

The simplistic design is how websites used to be before designers felt the need to justify their existence. This has more in common with a gopher terminal than modern sites. Berkshire shareholders in particular already know why they're on the site. You can't buy a single share without a bucketload of cash. The performance of the company sells itself. Most modern websites just obfuscate information, but they still all just follow the leader with where they put information. Say you want to contact someone for customer support and you're on the homepage. Where do you go? To search the page footer for that information, of course.