i-d media london

Web sites promoting exhibitions can be notoriously boring and often result in a page with just intro text, date of event, and a lonely picture. We’ve found some nice exceptions of sites that break the mould and give the user a more enriching experience. Onedotzero , a London-based moving image and digital arts organisation, has created a clear, concise and considered site. The site is simple in terms of interaction, easy to navigate and the design is clear and clean. The MoMA site for their exhibition ‘Design and the Elastic Mind’ dates back to 2008 but still feels very fresh and exciting. The site shows links of information through dynamically moving lines across the screen, making it a part of the exhibition itself. The web site for the Paris Design Week doesn’t offer much content in addition to key information, but we do love the treatment they’ve given their Google maps.

• Onedotzero
• MoMA
• Paris Design Week

Like Einstein put it, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”. In web design, invisible design means keeping the user experience as simple as possible. Dieter Rams, the forefather of “invisible design” and writer of the book ‘As Little Design As Possible’ embraced form following function. His products, always designed around functionality, have been an inspiration to companies like Apple. A good digital example is the user interface of Google Plus The small animations and simple visual signposts efficiently hide the complexity of the site from the user. Oliver Reichenstein, founder of iA, wrote an in-depth “G+” review of the service.

• As little design as possible
• Google Plus
• Oliver Reichenstein’s review