Tuesday, Mar 18, 2008

A new design

Featured Projects, General, Visual design by Austin Govella

A new design

Just launched a new design. I'm proud. Not because it's the greatest design ever, but because it really matches who I am with what I need.

4 Comments

Just launched a new design. I’m proud. Not because it’s the greatest design ever, but because it really matches who I am with what I need.

I’m a contrarian at heart. My design is driven by what others aren’t doing rather than by what it needs to do, but as someone who believes so much in the user experience, what’s a contrarian to do when the prevalent style becomes clean, usable, readable websites?

That’s my style!

So, the post page becomes this crazy mash of colliding elements before slipping into quiet order below the fold. Then the elements start colliding again in the footer. I love it.

The main page and everywhere else are oddly utilitarian. But, at least they’re overseen by the mummyhead. It’s either a sad or disturbing icon about the self. Stolen from the Situationists and adorned with grungey, paint splatter angel wings, it floats over a logotype set in a classical style. I’m not sure what that says, but it’s me.

Armani Casa's ad from the NYT style magazine

An Armani Casa ad from this Sunday’s New York Times Style Magazine.

In this Sunday’s New York Times Style Magazine, a slew of furniture ads seemed to reflect an underlying fear of globalization present in much of the Western world. Each ad represented an onslaught of the different, the foreign, and the strange, and each onslaught was kept back by a reliance on the super-clean lines of modernism; those same lines that reflect education and class as the West’s cultural redoubt against all things foreign.

All that wasn’t in my head at the time, but this is my response. It’s odd. Despite feeling so disconnected from the Design world, you can describe my work the same way. I’m a contrarian, but even I fall victim to the same fears.

In the West, everything is changing, and no one knows what the fuck is going on. Seems like everywhere I look nowadays, you can sense that society is reacting to that.

Talk About "A new design"

Register or Log In to comment

amelia bellows

amelia bellows said:

I like it! Its unexpected and fresh, and puts the main bit up top in that wonderful yellow band. Which actually is a fun AND functional way to present a content tidbit that gets you into the story. Your posts are quite funny, especially the one on Agile and the wireframes. Love fancast too, great work!

Wed, Jun 11, 2008 at 11:52 PM

Austin Govella

Austin Govella said:

Thanks! I appreciate the kind words.

I actually came across your blog recently. Wish you wrote more.

Mon, Jun 16, 2008 at 04:26 PM

David Laakso

David Laakso said:

A site that is easy to read and easy to use. Quaint. And very nice!

Mon, Jan 05, 2009 at 05:35 PM

Austin Govella

Austin Govella said:

Thank you David.

I was just thinking about redesigning to make it more cluttered. Your comment came at exactly the write time to remind me to keep it clean.

Mon, Jan 05, 2009 at 11:19 PM

Hot topic? Subscribe to a feed of this post's comments.