I'm interested in the contrast between Flickr and the portfolio sites. I believe (I may be mistaken) Flickr restrained itself in order to allow the photos to be

I'm interested in the contrast between Flickr and the portfolio sites. I believe (I may be mistaken) Flickr restrained itself in order to allow the photos to be the dominant visual element. I understand why the portfolio sites are overly designed. It's a quick way to scream, "Hey, we're for designers!" It's more for designers learning from other designers than as a showcase to non-designers. Flickr is more about the mass market consuming beautiful photos, so that is different. It's interesting that Virb (http://www.virb.com http://www.virb.com) aims kind of in the middle, and its design is kind of in the middle.