Yes, great point! Even the best design principles can fall into 'trend' territory if they're not applied intentionally, to solve an actual problem. Exceptions d

Yes, great point! Even the best design principles can fall into 'trend' territory if they're not applied intentionally, to solve an actual problem. Exceptions definitely make the rule, and a site might find that extreme information density is what's called for. It really comes down to being intentional, being wary of trends for trends sake, and hammering on the constraints, and the problem one is trying to solve for the user.