Primal Scream - XTRMNTR

Flash-based

Flash websites designed to promote Primal Scream’s 2000 album, XTRMNTR. I find this site to highlly immersive to any visitor, given the strong unity of sound and image. Also, considering that this website was designed 8 years ago, complexity can still be achieved without the most recent software or features. This site is a testament to the convergence of user interface, audio, and dynamic graphics to an attractive whole. Not surprisingly, this site is now featured in The Museum for Applied Arts in Frankfurt.

iGoogle

Dynamically-generated

Probably the best one-stop portal on the web is Google’s personalized homepage feature, iGoogle. For most of its users, iGoogle is a combination between an RSS feed aggregator, a search engine, and a tool connecting people to their local (and global) communities. If I refresh my home-page every 20 minutes or so, I am constantly informed about every single news item I would personally want to know. Additionally, iGoogle refreshes extremely fast and is constantly boasting new features. It only needs some cosmetic improvements, which is somewhat being remedied with custom themes / skins.

What is Web 2.0? - Response

Tim O'Reily's article, "What is Web 2.0" confronts both the myths and realities inherent in the latest wave of Internet technologies. Web 2.0 is the latest marketing term for online ventures and has fortunately reinvigorated the Web from its infamous crash followings its rise. I think similar to any technology, the older it gets, the more sophisticated its functions become, which applies directly to many of today's popular websites. Sites like Amazon and Google have evolved from single-service websites to multi-functioning portals the mimic software. If there is any main component to Web 2.0, I would suggest the notion that Internet is becoming an operating system itself, loaded with a gamut of full-featured applications. Within these services, search engine innovations have acted as the driving force in filtering content to personal preferences. Smart search boxes are the ultimate user interface tool, which allows for finding exact content immediately, than the monotonous browsing of early web sites.

There also seems to be an aesthetic trend, which has led to what many people call a streamlined" or "clean" aesthetic. However, it is with the hackneyed Web 2.0 design trends, I personally find the major fault within an otherwise interesting movement. Far too often, are Internet users seeing reflective logos, "Beta" call-outs, ornamental flares, and numerous other agitations too aggravating to list. I think everyone wants their Internet habits simplified, which is where Web 2.0 offers a user-friendly, efficient proposal, but I think it is equally important to not undermine the role of the media designer to keep the digital landscape free from immature, ghastly aesthetic trends.