I found this article in ID magazine, a design industry trade magazine that my roommate subscribes to (and is awesome) about a trend in web design with designers choosing deliberately tacky, 'old-school' designs. From an artistic perspective, I kind of dig the so-ugly-it's-amazing element to the site's, but from a communications one, it's a bit trickier, I think. Although I noticed that the MIA Web site was actually surprisingly navigable considering all the crap going on, it was still far from user-friendly, which begs the question of how edgy can a Web site be while still getting your message to viewers?
http://www.id-mag.com/article/BacktotheFuture
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2 comments:
I think you're right. It's a fine line. But I guess if part of what they are are trying to communicate is a retro or nonconformist aesthetic then it contributes to the communication. But if they're just doing it for a "look" without any philosophy attached, I think it hurts. Maybe anything that isn't part of the communication becomes noise.
I think it's great to have a really creative idea or look and run with it, but readability and ease of navigation have got to come first, if your site is for anything other than appearance. MIA has a distinct brand identity that includes a loud, '80s style, but a website like that detracts from a creative image rather than adds to it.
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