You guys know any really well designed non-videogame/anime/geek-hobby related websites? I'm trying to compile a list for someone.
Thanks in advance.
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You guys know any really well designed non-videogame/anime/geek-hobby related websites? I'm trying to compile a list for someone.
Thanks in advance.
Does http://www.apple.com/ count?
www.pixelranger.com is a great web design website. Probably one of the best if you need somebody to do something. The problem is that he's so good you'd pay through your teeth.
Thanks for the help guys. I also found some good ones here : http://www.coolhomepages.com/ :)
I'm all set now.
That is nuts!Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew
Nevermind, I'm a retard.
I'm going to be hunting some rabbits by takka-pon-hemno- lake. later guys.
www.u2.com i'm impressed with .
2Advanced.com
- The only site to pretty much proclaim the 'best site on the net' title. Although I liked the last design colour scheme better, they still rule. Pixel Ranger works for them.
I do web design... I got a lot of sites if you need them.
Ultrashock.com is a good place too... it's a flash community and usually more advanced users hang out there (hi).
http://www.hi-res.net designed quite a few nice sites. varied styles too. not just your generic futuristic flash site with ultra-tiny fonts.
http://www.hi-res.net designed quite a few nice sites. varied styles too. not just your generic futuristic flash site with ultra-tiny fonts
Meh. It's not that good to me. It's actually kind of confusing but I respect your opinion.
Cool site Lobo.... a new one I just found that is pretty cool is sixtailer.com (courtesy US)
I also like the U2 site, some nice programming on that timeline bar.
Yea, it's a pretty slick site. And altough it's not one of my faves, ANY originality in web design goes a long way imho.Quote:
Originally Posted by epmode
OMG 8pt PIXIL FONTS, ARROWS, AND ONE PIXEL BORDERS! THIS IS AMAZING!?
(A neat little site: http://www.uncontrol.com)
The problem with most of these sites are that they aren't real "web sites", they are just elaborate flash animations. I mean sure they look as nice as hell, but they have very little to do with a "real" website. I'm my opinion these sites are really leaving the whole website realm and entering a totally different one. Then again I'm not really well versed in this area, so my opinions probably mean very little :D
As for my picks, I don't really keep in mind my favorite websites, though I've always been a fan of Kenshin's work.
piku's right - that pixelranger site is a great example. It looks nice, but its fucking hell to navigate through and all the flashy buttons and lights and shit take forever to load and make the site anything but functional. Its total style over substance.
ive hated flash websites for years but unfortunately they only seem to be getting more popular as people equate good web design with lots of flash animation and bullshit.
If you ask me the best website design out there is ESPN.com. Its functional as anything, has a ton of information mere clicks away and has everything in a logical, consistent place throughout the website. Its incredibly easy to find anything you are looking for on that site.
I'm just not impressed by people who make websites completely out of flash. Sure, it looks neat, but anybody can do that. I have a lot of respect for people who still work with standard old HTML - no Flash, no Java - and push it to its extremes and come up with impressive creations.Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew
Plus, right away his site says that a Pentium is required, so I guess I'm not welcome. (Nor are any AMD owers.)
i'm not talking about their main site. check out their featured work and past projects. there's a lot of good stuff there. there's some silly flash nonsense, but they even do a decent job with that.Quote:
Originally Posted by pixelassassin
Uh. Sorry but not everyone can make Flash sites. They involve HEAVY programming with mathematical equations.
Sure from just looking at them, they may seem simple but they are not.
HTML, strict coding is used aswell. A hybrid site is a good example of combining both worlds.
PR and 2A are 2 of the highest paid web designers. Sure their styles are great, but they know what they are doing.
Also, I don't get the hard to navigate argument.... I mean.. where is that coming from? It has a standard dummy navigation (that's what the under the header, horizontal style of nav is called).
Isn't it pretty straight foward? Click and go?
Odd.
Whoops... not everyone can make advanced flash sites such as 2A, or PR... anyone can make a crappy flash site. That's not that hard but it's still harder than HTML (which is changing apparently in 3 years - w3c.org)
i'm not talking about their main site. check out their featured work and past projects. there's a lot of good stuff there. there's some silly flash nonsense, but they even do a decent job with that.
I check them out. They are good but I've seen better.
How is Flash nonsense? It is way more interactive than HTML and you don't design in boxes, you design freely - how you invision it.
Most flash sites aren't even high loading times. PR is quite quick loading on high speed. I just don't get it.
i agree whole-heartedly. im so sick of all-flash layouts. most dont look that good, and they all have those stupid loading pages.Quote:
Originally Posted by shidoshi
just look at http://www.pimp-productions.com ! that webmaster is a fucking genious.
i personally like flash. i even fool around with it from time to time, so i know good work when i see it. ..it's just that a lot of people tend to overuse it by creating entirely unnecessary graphical garbage, just to show how leet they are with the program. plus, it automatically excludes many older machines from even viewing the page, which is potentially a huge problem depending on your clientelle.
Flash doesn't work with Opera for some strange reason, so I'm excluded from the flash websites unless I want to open IE. I can agree that HTML is fine.
LOL!Quote:
Originally Posted by shidoshi
Anybody can make a total shit flash site yes. But the same can be said for static HTML sites too (check out angelfire or geocities).
Personally I love me some Flash as it's a bunch of fun to work with. Thing is 90% of all websites are about delivering content to to your users. Until Flash has a 100% browser saturation rate, I personally wouldn't go all Flash with any of my or my clients sites (unless personally requested).
Flash can be great for certain user groupe demograpics, but it's not for everyone.
I do like utilizing Flash in sites that can still effortlessly be viewed without it. Take a look at one of my portfolio websites to see what I mean. (portfolio site is in SORE need of an update):
http://www.moreevolved.com/portfolio/
Flash developers don't make sites like that to show off.
They make them to prove to clients where their skills lay and it works.
Graphical garbage is anything but what that is. It's mostly insanely technical great artwork.
Websites should be considered an art. It's just that it has gotten out of control and everybody can make one with little knowledge.
There is a lot of ignorant quotes in this topic. It hurts us developers very much so. ;)
Flash is the future. Most of them load in the same time that HTML sites take to load.
That pimp productions site is not good. How is he a genius? Photoshop Filter Effects overused=eye sore. Used right = artwork. Same goes for painting in real life, right?
This topic is great feedback though for us designers. So don't feel bad. hehe.
------
I like your layouts Kidnemo. Simple portfolio but it works.
Where do you work KidNemo, anywhere famous or in the biz?
Aye, I was going through a very minimal phase for a while, hence the portfolio you see above. You can see a bit more advanced flash stuff by clicking the thumbnails on this page of my 'folio:Quote:
Originally Posted by pixelassassin
http://www.moreevolved.com/portfolio...dia_design.htm
And here is another more graphically intenstive flash project I messed around with:
http://www.moreevolved.com/securityintdemo/
I don't work anywhere very exicting, though my company (www.moreevolved.com) is getting some decent recoginition in the Milwaukee/Chicago area.
Anybody else that has a portfolio or work online is welcome to post their stuff too. :D
I have mine. I'm thinking about a name change.
It just has a coming soon page that I made in 3 minutes and I don't like.
http://www.omegagenesis.com
I like the name, but I dunno... not designer enough? I dunno.
I like that security thing, that nav panel is sweet.
One question. If one needs to brush up on panel graphics and such like your white panels on your security one, where would one find stuff to help?
I know its mostly gradients with a white bar on top (1 px) (or inner shadow) but i need to brush up. Too much time on PHP and not enough on Photoshop these past couple months.
you're misinterpreting me. i'm not debating whether or not this theoretical site has nice art.Quote:
Originally Posted by pixelassassin
i have no problem with websites existing just for the sake of displaying flash art. i happen to like several such sites. it's just that most other sites have (or should have,) functionality as a goal. for these sites, pretty art is nice, but practicality/readability is more important. i've seen many flash builders forget this.
edit: i don't even know why i'm arguing anymore. :sweat: i'm only talking in hypotheticals, anyway.
I'm not misinterpreting. Saying it's graphical garbage is offensive and ignorant.
They do take into consideration the readability and practicality of their sites.
Just remember most of us educated designers have sat in COUNTLESS classes/lectures telling us to THINK about everything we do. That seems to be ALL we do. We don't stop thinking.
Show me proof that Pixelranger.com is confusing to navigate, or unreadable.
Also, for the record. (Cause I used this feedback as reference) Can you guys tell me your age so I can categorize the demographic of each advice feedback? Thanks guys.
Nevermind KidNemo :
http://www.joystickadventures.com/panel1.jpg
:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
ok, then forget i used the word garbage. i thought i explained myself pretty well.Quote:
Originally Posted by pixelassassin
you know, i wasn't even referring to pixelranger (see my above edit.) aside from the 8 pixel fonts, i don't have much of a problem with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by pixelassassin
I'm not arguing. That would mean I'm angry, and I'm not at all.Quote:
i don't even know why i'm arguing anymore. i'm only talking in hypotheticals, anyway.
I'm just trying to enlighten. :)
It's my job and I can do my best to transfer my knowledge to others.
edit: uh... my knowledge because I've studied this, not because I'm like a god or something. sorry bout that.
I totally agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by epmode
I love the flash, but for 90% of websites, they're only a delivery method for saids sites content.
Looking cool is good, but readibility, speed of content delivery, ease of navigation, being viewable to the highest number of users (i.e. browser compatiblity and consideration for lower bandwidth), and content (did I say this arleady. :D) are paramount.
Here is a test that I use:Quote:
Originally Posted by pixelassassin
If I'm trying to have a site be as easy and understandable as possible, I show it to my mom. I love my mom dearly, and she is a smart lady, but not when it comes to computers.
If my mom can use it, then anybody can.
Looks pretty close. :)Quote:
Well, call me offensive and ignorant then, because I DO think a hell of a lot of Flash sites are "graphical garbage." People use Flash without knowing HOW to use Flash, and use Flash when there is not one single reason to, other than to "look cool."
And my point about "anybody can make Flash" was that Flash gives you so many more freebies when it comes to design. It isn't hard to make a pretty looking Flash page, because at the end of the day all Flash really is is a big graphic.
Doing something that looks equally pleasing with nothing more than HTML code is a hell of a lot more difficult.
And those two designers you mentioned are getting a lot of money. Great. Microsoft gets a lot of money for Windows, and I still think it is a shit product that's a total mess.
Took 5 seconds. ;)Quote:
Looks pretty close.
I dunno why I chose purple. Maybe because I was looking at your sig banner and those lil metroid type dudes were calling out to me.
I guess we're going to have to agree to dissagree.Quote:
Originally Posted by shidoshi
Because I totally and completely dissagree with you.
I'd like a list of these "freebies" you're talking about. Everything that's in Flash MX template wise (scrollbars, menus, buttons, etc.) looks like crap.
And there is quite a bit more to making a great looking flash site than just "making a big graphic", just as much programming knowledge (if not quite a bit more depending on how in depth you get), as any static html site.
pixelassassin, check your PMs plz.
Well, call me offensive and ignorant then, because I DO think a hell of a lot of Flash sites are "graphical garbage." People use Flash without knowing HOW to use Flash, and use Flash when there is not one single reason to, other than to "look cool."
Why do people use HTML? To look practical? What's the merit that differentiates between using Flash or HTML? Graphical garbage? Tell me how many people can create graphics like Pixel Ranger or 2A? Not many.
You are misinformed.
And my point about "anybody can make Flash" was that Flash gives you so many more freebies when it comes to design. It isn't hard to make a pretty looking Flash page, because at the end of the day all Flash really is is a big graphic.
Really? 'Cause flash gives you nothing. You have to know how to link your pages together with buttons (using Actionscripting, aka programming) and if you want to animate those buttons, thats a whole new field of entertainment. Flash may have big bitmaps in it, but it is FAR from a graphic. Did you forget how interactive flash was? Or can be used properly? Most people who do not know how to use flash - don't. It's complex and unforgiving.
Doing something that looks equally pleasing with nothing more than HTML code is a hell of a lot more difficult.
Hah. HTML is the most basic form of web design there is. If you think that it is complex, then you need to venture further. Maybe HTML + PHP + ASP.... then you might have something but straight HTML is a walk in the park. Hello notepad, hello pixelassassin... you are my friend.
True, a lot of HTML sites can look very nice (FFOnline) but most well done flash sites kill HTML sites - why? Interactivity.
And those two designers you mentioned are getting a lot of money. Great. Microsoft gets a lot of money for Windows, and I still think it is a shit product that's a total mess.
Well, now at least I know where you are coming from. Bill Gates hater, eh? That's cool if that's your thing. I mean they just make software, why HATE them. It's like hating the GAP. Why? They make clothes, not spawns of the devil. ;)
Flash is just adverse as HTML. HTML is out of hand with people who don't know how to use it just as much as Flash is. Thankfully, that may all be coming to and end if W3C gets there way.
Again, it's ok to have your opinion and I respect it and all that jazz but being ignorant is a sad way to look at everything.
Oh yeah, keep in mind that Flash is starting to take over more than the net. PDA's are using Flash (they can finally handle it, before Flash+PDA=boom) and most new fridges in the future will no doubt probably use Flash to do their interfaces. Flash + Hand Control (finger monitor) = ohhhh yeah!!!*koolaid guy*
Not to mention that some film editors use Flash for advanced Text effects and some visual effects. Publish -> Quicktime Movie.
:)
citrusmedia.com and designchapel.com
They're company pitch websites with Chapel being a pretty hi end site. But good design doesn't always mean good functionality. (well, actually maybe it does, media wise. But design wise it doesn't really)
I think it looks cool. I'm no media design expert though. I'm learning print design so I couldn't tell you, but I think it looks cool. Anybody who's familiar with print and media design knows that white space is kind of an iffy subject.Quote:
Originally Posted by shidoshi
Media designers typically like to have every inch filled on their site with SOMETHING. I suppose they believe they're paying for the space, so they should use it. I disagree, because white space helps all. (I don't mean white space as the colour white, either. Just empty)
It's a whole thing. I'm sure Nemo could help you out here as I'm still new to this graphic thing.
Aye, so's your old man. i wouldnt be putting down other sites when your own isnt that great to begin with.Quote:
Originally Posted by pixelassassin
but i guess you didnt get the joke? I am the webmaster of pimp-productions.com, its in my goddamn sig! shameless self-promotion is always good.
oh, and there were NO Photoshop filters used in creating the graphics for the site. it was all done by using the various airbrush/smudge tools and layer blending. so....
Haha. So just because it's your website means that I cannot give my opinion?
You posted the link.
Newbie? Haha, good one.
Actually your header/siderbar graphics could be made with filters and probably would look similar. So, there is no cause to become rude and childish, is there?
Sorry I blazed your site but seriously, if you didn't want me to hurt your feelings, then you shouldn't have posted it man. I didn't even mean to hurt your feelings.... I just gave my opinion. Welcome to 1994. Ok?
Whatever dude! You got a kick ass picture on your website anyways with that Letterman picture. ;)
Don't take stuff so personal. By the way, you do know that Photoshop filters are just quick shortcuts to creating things you do in Photoshop ... say with the paintbrush and smudges? You did know that right? You can do a motion blur on your own, how? Psst *smudge*
;)
I rather like my website, actually -- simple, clean, utilitarian. Get the fuck in, get the fuck out. Gratuitous flash does exactly nothing for me.
Yeah, but the lack of Mars Matrix replay videos makes my heart weep.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mode7
Yeah. Whatever.
You make no sense. At all.
...?
I was the webmaster of Wrestling Games.com and people liked it's layout. It wasn't good, and I didn't know the first thing about design back then.
Just saying that being a webmaster means nothing.
p.s. Purple is ugly by itself
www.bigpantsmouse.com
Gorgeous.
I'm amazed at how fast the Pixelranger and 2Advanced sites loaded for me, do they even have load animations?
Mode7's site has always been one of my favorites. Stylish and simple.
Flash is overrated.
One thing I can't STAND are useless flash intros. Especially ones you can't skip.
*clicks on mode7 link; endures subsequent disappointment*Quote:
Originally Posted by cigsthecat
Regus -- get in touch through PM if MM replays are a thought you'd like to pursue.
Blinding and awfulQuote:
Originally Posted by icepop