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I think this, and the previous part, are probably most usefully viewed from the perspective of "The design zeitgeist dictates that I must do $DESIGN_TREND; here

I think this, and the previous part, are probably most usefully viewed from the perspective of "The design zeitgeist dictates that I must do $DESIGN_TREND; here is how to do $DESIGN_TREND and make it work well" (where $DESIGN_TREND is, for example, having a huge image and making the overlaid text readable), rather than from the perspective of critiquing whether these trends in design are actually necessarily a good idea. I say this as someone who routinely does get asked to build sites that are (to put it kindly) heavily indebted to other current sites; I can definitely confirm that overlaying text on top of images and making it readable genuinely is quite hard work - especially if your clients are choosing the images! - and these tips are certainly very helpful for those occasions when you can't hire a designer with a natural instinct for making this stuff work. So, I say: great pair of articles with some great tips.

jobu 12y ago
The examples pictured are very trendy, but most of the tips are about ways to create a minimalist design, and that's something that's been proven to be timeless. (e.g. Dieter Rams: http://goo.gl/ncLg0j http://goo.gl/ncLg0j)
- themoonbus 12y ago
  Minimalism isn't timeless, minimalism itself is a trend in design. It's definitely a trend with merit, but it isn't some absolute truth to always strive towards. I would recommend reading "Living with Complexity" by Don Noarman for some interesting arguments about why complexity in design isn't inherently bad.
  - m3mnoch 12y ago
    > Minimalism isn't timeless, minimalism itself is a trend in design. i suppose. depending on the length of your view. but, given minimalism has been a "trend" for the last 100 years or so, i am going to assume you're looking at broad trending across centuries instead of through the "flat design is trendy" lens.
    - themoonbus 12y ago
      Yes, the broad trend (or movement, or whatever), e.g.: http://spyrestudios.com/minimalist-design-a-brief-history-and-practical-tips/ http://spyrestudios.com/minimalist-design-a-brief-history-an...
    - TheOtherHobbes 12y ago
      On that basis classical architecture and design have been far more successful than anything else. There's a reason for that Roman word in Times New Roman. Minimalism works well on small screens. But my guess is that as UI devices get bigger and more immersive we'll see more texture and decoration beginning to reappear; six feet of extreme white space is too much to hold interest as a container of useful content. Incidentally, not a few Victorian and Edwardian (i.e. pre-Bauhaus) public buildings in the UK have amazingly rich and detailed designs. They were incredibly labour intensive building projects, and there's something very compelling about spaces that were built and decorated almost entirely by hand with expert craft and precision and take pride and pleasure in expensive decoration. I'm not sure what the UI equivalent would be, but it's interesting to think about.
kmfrk 12y ago
This "design trend" is basically touch-based navigation, which calls for large link boxes instead of the text-only navigation for mice.

jobu 12y ago

The examples pictured are very trendy, but most of the tips are about ways to create a minimalist design, and that's something that's been proven to be timeless. (e.g. Dieter Rams: http://goo.gl/ncLg0j http://goo.gl/ncLg0j)

themoonbus 12y ago
Minimalism isn't timeless, minimalism itself is a trend in design. It's definitely a trend with merit, but it isn't some absolute truth to always strive towards. I would recommend reading "Living with Complexity" by Don Noarman for some interesting arguments about why complexity in design isn't inherently bad.
- m3mnoch 12y ago
  > Minimalism isn't timeless, minimalism itself is a trend in design. i suppose. depending on the length of your view. but, given minimalism has been a "trend" for the last 100 years or so, i am going to assume you're looking at broad trending across centuries instead of through the "flat design is trendy" lens.
  - themoonbus 12y ago
    Yes, the broad trend (or movement, or whatever), e.g.: http://spyrestudios.com/minimalist-design-a-brief-history-and-practical-tips/ http://spyrestudios.com/minimalist-design-a-brief-history-an...
  - TheOtherHobbes 12y ago
    On that basis classical architecture and design have been far more successful than anything else. There's a reason for that Roman word in Times New Roman. Minimalism works well on small screens. But my guess is that as UI devices get bigger and more immersive we'll see more texture and decoration beginning to reappear; six feet of extreme white space is too much to hold interest as a container of useful content. Incidentally, not a few Victorian and Edwardian (i.e. pre-Bauhaus) public buildings in the UK have amazingly rich and detailed designs. They were incredibly labour intensive building projects, and there's something very compelling about spaces that were built and decorated almost entirely by hand with expert craft and precision and take pride and pleasure in expensive decoration. I'm not sure what the UI equivalent would be, but it's interesting to think about.

kmfrk 12y ago

This "design trend" is basically touch-based navigation, which calls for large link boxes instead of the text-only navigation for mice.