Looks like the W3C has announced a new HTML5 logo to brand their efforts to advance what may or may not become the new standard in web coding, the HTML5 web standard. It sure seems as if everything today needs some sort of branding. How else can we get a message across in a split second of someone’s attention? So, some gripe, some rejoice, some think that it’s controversial. Who, why?…

The New HTML5 logo by the W3C

Who? Web developers. And they’re not addressing the looks of the logo. Why then? Well, web developers are stating that with the new orange and black crest, the W3C is using HTML5 as a general term that includes all upcoming web tools and interweaving standards such as CSS and SVG. The claim is that these separate technologies all have applications outside of HTML and therefore the new brand somehow places them “under” or “inside” a general term like HTML5. The issue’s not aesthetic. While they do have a point, who can say if any of us knew what those technologies are or that they exist if it weren’t for HTML. Yes, in 10 years nobody will be mentioning it much, but we’re here right now and HTML brought us here whether we like it or not. And as always with branding, connective technologies need a hero. A single icon or meme that spreads in people’s minds like wildfire. And HTML is already here, so why not?

Gizmodo designers took a stab at logos for some of these technologies. Check out the Gallery after the jump. They’re all good too.

Flipboard's FlipDesign

So this iPad app exploded into the scene last week. Yes, Flipboard. Everyone’s talking about it! It flips!

Yes, it does. To me, that’s just eye-candy. The transition they chose to program on top of this app is the hook. What keeps me coming back is the look. It just looks great. They’ve put the content to the test, over and over and over. They’ve chosen a series of layouts, nit-picky typography, and  a minimalist color palette to showcase the content. Content is still king, and as long as you can make it look this good and throw in some eye-candy for the masses, you’re golden.

I did read an article pondering the legality of FlipBoard and its scraping technology–but that’s beside the point here. I think that now that they’ve made a splash and have some attention, they’ll get right on that legal thing ASAP. Especially with the list of content providers going around the block waiting to get in on this. Strike while it’s hot boys!

I really dig the FlipDesign section. Plenty of impeccable design to thumb through and admire.

Design:Related List of Lists for 2009

I hope you have some time to read. I mean read. Design:Related has a List of Design Lists for 2009. What does that mean? It means that right on that page, you’ll find a wealth of interesting Design reading. They have gathered over 100 lists in the following categories:

• Architecture
• Blogs
• Books, Comics, and Magazines
• Fashion
• Food
• General Design
• General News
• Green/Sustainability
• Movies, TV, Animation, and Video
• Music
• Photography
• Strange/Weird/Funny
• Technology
• Tutorials and Resources
• Video Games

My head is spinning. Yes, we’re in May 2010. These lists also cover the decade. And, it’s good to know these lists are here to come back and catch up with on a holiday. Not all categories appeal to everyone–I know I have my priorities of what I want to read. And there is still a lot to catch up with.

A week or two I had a great time going over this great post from Smashing magazine. As the title clearly states, it’s a collection of homepage captures from websites of all shapes and sizes. From Ivy League to Motor League, I think you’ll agree that most university types are represented.

I really enjoyed looking at all of these if merely to demonstrate how one goal can be approached from so many different angles. The screenshots are categories under General Colleges and Universities, Community Colleges, Art & Design Colleges & Universities, and Other Institutions, Colleges and Universities.

I’ve included my two favorites here. I picked them for their clear use of hierarchy, solid structure, effective color palettes, and typography. Note that they are not from the Art & Design category. It just goes to show.

Lenoir-Rhyne University

University of Chester

I think the author says it best:

While the vast majority of college and university websites out there are in need of serious overhaul, there are some fine examples of sites if you look hard enough. If designing a site for a college or university, remember that simplicity and negative space are both important, regardless of the amount of information a site needs to contain.

Smashing magazine.

I love Typography website

One of the sites that I visit regularly is ilovetypography.com. A quick glance upon getting to the homepage reveals the sheer amount of information available on this site. Aside from the free desktop wallpapers and stuff you can buy,  there is always good reading within a click or two.

The list of popular articles on the center column showcases some of the best resources they offer. Currently on this list are articles on how to make a font, type terminology, type history, a web typography guide, choosing type, and identifying a font.

Web design benefits greatly from good use of typography. The same rules that have applied to print for centuries are critical in web design and have been largely ignored since the web exploded into what it is today. The viewers have the same basic need for clarity when accessing information–regardless of where it is displayed. I was very glad when I first learned about this site. The time invested in learning  how to improve web typography pays off in the quality of the design as a whole.

National Parks Foundation micro site

Recently I noticed these case studies on the AIGA website. I’ve been reading some when I have a little time to take in a really good example of how to carry out a project and develop really unique solutions to tough challenges. This case study brings us a micro site that design studios Modernista! and FL2 designed and developed for the National Park Foundation. The site was to accompany Modernista!’s broadcast campaign to support Ken Burns’ PBS documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. On the site, users can explore the national park system, contribute to the foundation, and share the site and their experience with others.

Visit the site to read how the project was planned and executed. They’ve shared how they assessed the project’s goal, the methodology, the user experience, the challenges the project presented, and the results.

AIGA Design Archives Online

Love to look at what others are doing? Looking for inspiration? Love to look at excellent design? Head on over to the AIGA Design Archives, which feature selection from AIGA’s Annual Design Competitions. Covering everything from Brand and Identity Systems Design to Book Design, you’ll find a wealth of resources. With a sleek interface that’s easy to figure out and navigate, it’s a pleasure to browse through. Excellent design? Check. Inspiring? Check.

Works on the archive are selected from these AIGA competitions:

• About 365: AIGA Annual Design Competition
• About 50 Books/50 Covers competition
• Winterhouse Awards for Design Writing & Criticism
• Worldstudio AIGA Scholarships
• INDEX: | AIGA Aspen Design Challenge
• Regional AIGA competitions

I flip through these when I get them in print form every year as part of my AIGA membership, and it’s always a celebration of good design. Not just good looking, but good design. Good design looks good most of the time, but really isn’t it just doing it’s job? It makes us comfortable looking at the information, even inviting us sometimes. Making us feel comfortable (or uncomfortable) with the message. One of my professors told us once that Design is a logical sequence of events. And I agree with him. There’s an audience, a context, and a purpose. These are considered and evaluated, research has focuses our options, and execution and refinement have polish the project to a degree which makes the design exceptional.

Of course, good design often looks easy, and that’s part of the appeal. It looks easy because it’s relating to the viewer. The viewer feels almost like they could have thought of it themselves. And that’s a very good thing if you want to get your message across.

NPR website re-design 2009

This summer, independent news and entertainment source National Public Radio has been heavily promoting their re-designed website. Here’s a recent screenshot of the homepage. A user normally doesn’t get to see the entire page like this, but it is a very useful way to assess how the elements of the page are interacting, what is working, and what is not working and needs further development.

This new design is completely up to date. The large, horizontal navigation is solid and dominates the header with blocks that guide you as to what kind of content you can visit on their site. Elements in the navigation have an active state that features a little fold, as when a person folds the page of a book to keep their place marked. Nice touch. Even though NPR is radio based, and this is (of course) a website, it lends the otherwise quiet design sort of an analog flair.

The homepage is divided into three columns, and each column is nicely segmented into little bits of information that are easily scanned with the eye, and easy to digest since there is a lot of content here on the homepage. They also use color to differentiate different types of content such as News, Arts & Life, and Music.

There is plenty to see as well, for those who look more and read less. Colorful thumbnails introduce us to audio articles, photo galleries, blog entries, and music videos. And taking advantage of today’s technology, there are boxes with popular content such as most viewed, most recommended, and most commented.

There are plenty of icon based links to audio players to listen to radio articles, podcasts, widgets, RSS feeds, videos, and plenty more to keep up with the heaviest of users who go through content a mile a minute.

Overall this is an example of design serving as a crystal goblet that holds and features its contents. The content then calls attention to itself based on its own qualities. There is no additional information in the communication channel. If the content is appealing to the audience, it is appealing because of its own qualities. When design is approached this way, authorship is maintained to a minimum if there is any at all by the designer.

A big change for the better. I am now visiting NPR.org more frequently.