Talented designer Larissa Meek has a nice piece on Vitamin pointing out seven trends in web design that just keep coming back. You might think they’re tired and overused, but the reality is they’re popular for a reason: they work really, really well. “Just as there are mainstays of good fashion, such as the little back dress, there are also mainstays of good web design, ” says Larissa.
I tend to agree. Mad respect for anyone who does succeed at doing something totally new, but you don’t have to in order to have a successful web design. The tried and true styles Larissa covers will do quite nicely in most situations, thank you very much.
http://www.thinkvitamin.com/features/design/web-design-isms-7-surefire-styles-that-work
001 // Rob Goodlatte // 06.11.2007 // 5:59 PM
I don’t disagree that these styles can be effective, but I don’t think its incredibly useful or healthy for web designers to reflect on the status quo.
If this were written in the sixties about kitchen appliance design it would probably call avocado green a sure-fire color choice that’s a mainstay of good industrial design. I think it’s silly to claim any style or theme is a sure-fire avenue to design success - if anything, that just keeps the design community stuck in a collective rut.