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prior listings

 

• Jared Souney 4/30/01 
  Description: this is a journey - design and photography
  Comments: Today's pick features two "phases" and it's "phase .002" that really got my attention.  Okay — so, "phase .001" is nice — it features Jared's commercial portfolio.  I like the fact that it's a portfolio of his design and photography work that doesn't attempt to sell the user on his services.  It just shows his rather impressive work samples.  Jared's designed a number of print magazine covers and he's an A-1 professional photographer.  But, like I said, it's really not phase .001 that resulted in my picking the site.  Phase .002 has two parts and I found them both really enjoyable.  In both cases, the user's only choice is to keep moving through the exhibit until it eventually ends, unless, of course, the user wants to use their [back] button.  I like this lack of navigability for this type of exhibit, though, because it encourages the user to explore the whole body of work instead of looking at one or two pieces and stopping.  Each of the two parts of phase .002 are tied together by a theme and going through the whole exhibit in each part is well worth it.  I'm not gonna spill the beans as to what the two themes are (but I'll say they're both interesting) — go see for yourself...
   
• widepipe.org 4/29/01 
  Description: This site was put up to keep me interested. Interested in design, interested in code, and interested in writing.
  Comments: "Can I play?" was the message I received a few days ago by email.  Sunil was referring to i2k and I immmediately went to check out the site.  "Hmmm" I'm thinking, "is it supposed to look like this?"  I'm also thinking that I really like this site and maybe he/she won't mind if I send a little screenshot with the question — if he/she is like me, they'll probably appreciate it.  I send it, thinking "maybe it IS supposed to look like that."  I'm hoping I don't offend them.  "Thanks for the heads up" comes back as the response and within minutes, the minor booboo is gone.  "Whew" I think, I'm glad he/she didn't mind.  It's not like there was some big problem with the site, but as designers, we tend to notice things a little too much — a hare off center can drive us bananas and margins jump out at us if they're not quite equal — it's an affliction at times.  Anyway — if you're into gadgets and media (all kinds of media, that is), this brand new site will be your cup of tea.  It appears to be just a few weeks old and Sunil is doing it to keep himself/herself interested in design and writing.  Makes me wonder if he/she realizes that others are interested as well.  Of course he/she does.  Three things remaining to say here:  1) Do not miss the sinwagon, a little gem that's part of Sunil's "network."  2) Has anyone come up with a word for "he/she" yet? — I apparently need one.  3) Yes, you can play — the code is on the way.
   
• snapshot 4/28/01 
  Description: Online photo journal based in San Francisco. Mostly nightlife and street photography. (Flash)
  Comments: Ken Auerweck tries to take at least 10 snapshots every day.  He's got thousands in his collection by now and 104 of them have found their way to the web in the form of an online photo journal.  Oh, yes, it is a journal — each snapshot is date stamped and each of the pictures is a record of where he was on a given day — what he happened to capture at different moments of time.  Sometimes it's people, some friends, some strangers, and other times it's a building, or something colorful sitting in the gutter, or the sink at someone's house where a party was held.  Whatever he happens to encounter is fair game.  All rather scattered and interesting, Ken's online photo journal is a perfect diversion.  The "tall" version (1 of 2 choices) adds an interesting dimension to his work.  The photos are randomly paired and presented that way and Ken's right that viewing the photos that way adds an interesting perspective to them.  But if you prefer to look at one at a time, just go for the "short" version.  So — I've viewed probably about a half of the photos and will be back soon to see the others.  What I'm really hoping, though, is that a whole bunch more of those date-stamped snapshots in his collection find their way from the shoebox to the webspace — San Francisco makes such a wonderful backdrop and we'll all want to see more...
   
• podular.net/ 4/27/01 
  Description: "...it's nice to just write what you feel like at the time, put up a photo, or basically do anything you want just because you want to."
  Comments: To those many of you out there who use a free hosting provider which bombards your visitors with popup ads (and prevents you from getting considered for serious recognition), you may want to check out the free host that today's pick has used.  I can't vouch for 'em, of course, but at least they offer an arrangement that only presents advertising to the sites' creators through a daily newsletter instead of to the sites' visitors.  The 25 year old creator of today's pick goes by the name of Peta sometimes — she's got a few more aliases in her pocket.  The soft, chocolate-like combination of colors really hits ya — I find Peta's use of color creates a warm, homey kinda atmosphere.  Combine that with a certain genius for photography and smooth, rounded corners at every turn, and it looks like Peta's got a real flair for design — at least in my mind, she does.  Her gallery of photos is superb and I love the navigation scheme she uses for it (if you're at 800x600, fullscreen mode works best).  The content is all personal here and Peta admits it's a little self-indulgent to put a site like this out there.  That's okay, Peta, because if a just few more visitors are as glad to meet you as I am, it's all worth it...
   
• six06 4/24/01 
  Description: personal site featuring my artwork, photography, poetry and log - and encourages poets to submit their work
  Comments: Okay, you poets out there — listen up!  There's a cool new domain that's just a few months old, and version 2 was completed this month — the resident creative spirit writes some great poetry herself and has a page waiting for your stuff, too.  As you sit there doodling your latest thoughts, thinking "I should publish some of this stuff" but, for now, just doing it on paper and calling it some sort of creative release, think about this nice lady named Julie who's willing to consider putting your poetry on the web — her web.  If it's good enough, you might even be the "featured poet."  Julie and I both know these things take time.  Getting people to interact is not easy — you have to provide the right backdrop and try to motivate creative people to participate.  In the meantime, you put the page out there and don't worry about it being empty at the moment.  You just hope someone will appreciate the value of it and participate.  Hat's off to Julie for being spunky enough to take that first step.  But I'm thinkin' that poetry is just a small part of what you'll find at today's pick.  Julie's just moved her log to this new site and just having read her most recent entry, I've got to say that honesty is obviously part of her personality.  Yep — her personality will hit ya.  She's also an artist and photographer.  The black and white architectural photographs are something worth checking out.  All in all, we've got a great personal site here with real potential if the visitors join in.  Isn't that what the web is about, anyway?
   
• Chris Judge 4/21/01 
  Description: personal space of a web designer and illustrator in Dublin
  Comments: It's all interconnected, baby.  I think Chris probably found the ageless project from that link on k10k last week.  I discovered Chris' site when he submitted it to be included with those who don't have a problem with sharing their date of birth with the world.  And, so it goes on the web.  Constant discovery is what it's all about for me, and any site that takes an interest in any of my projects is bound to get my attention, at least long enough to see what they're doing and how they might fit into other projects.  So, Chris' site is today's pick, thanks to my favorite baldy and the interconnectedness of things.  What I really like about the site is Chris' illustrations — in fact, the interface in that section of his site, full of colorful 50x50 thumbnails, is a most interesting visual all by itself.  In addition, there's a section of Flash pieces, which includes some stuff for kids and other miscellaneous things — like the collection he did for "tencubed" that focused on the 90s.  Chris' illustrations are excellent, as is the design and navigation — it's all unique...
   
• Sufi Style 4/19/01 
  Description: original works of poetry ranging from the mundane to the ethereal by two wayward junkies.
  Comments: First, there's the buddha, who "subsists on rainwater, berries, and freelance design jobs" who writes "eager to misspend years of \ education in a breath of \ too-fresh northwestern air, \ moving nowhere but onward" which may be taken as ethereal in his mind, though mundane in ours.  Okay, so maybe buddha can't decide which coast he wants to live on and some will ask "but is it poetry?"  "On the web, it is" snaps Joe, defender of all starving creatives — "It may be good poetry or it may be bad poetry, but on the web, it's poetry."  Joe can be such a jerk sometimes.  Then there's the monk who may be in search of something other than "an increased understanding of mind and consciousness" as he asks "could it be that i was \ so caught up in my own reality \ that i failed to see the one around me?"  "Whoa!" Joe thinks, "that was pretty darn ethereal if ya ask me" though he's sure that it must be quite mundane to the monk."  "Who invited Joe, anyway?"  So, today's pick is a bunch of poetry from two guys from the East Coast who, for now, are on the West Coast, writing poetry like there's no tomorrow, for what it's worth.  And Joe was amused, so there ya go...
   
• In A Mood 4/17/01 
  Description: Personal site including a gallery of my digital art, my online journal and whatever else I feel like adding
  Comments: The ageless project is already starting to pay off, and you know I'm not talking in terms of revenue models or anything like that.  It's paying off by making me aware of some really cool personal sites that I didn't know were out there.  If it's doing that for me, then it must be doing that for you, too — so here we are :)  Today's pick is one of those personal gems I discovered via my newest webthing.  "...it's going to be a bright, bright, bright, sunshiney day..." adorns the top of Trish's pages — so, I'm instantly humming the melody that goes with it as I start reading her journal.  "I can see clearly now", I'm thinking to myself, giggling a little as I acknowledge the power of suggestion that's at play here.  What makes a great personal site, in my mind, is that it projects the personality of it's resident spirit directly and openly — Trish's site does that, but I'm not surprised when I read that one of her inspirations to get into the web, particulary web graphics, was one MizKitty, who is definitely not a stranger around here.  I'm thinkin' that it's not just the graphics that rubbed off on Trish — a little bit of the spirit rubbed off, too.  In addition to the upbeat and enjoyable journal, "the long of it" is a totally honest, introspective look at the persona behind the site and the "galleries" are rich with Trish's graphic creations.  She works with numbers on her day job, so this whole web thing is strictly done for the love of it — I find that quite inspiring myself, folks.  I love the fresh, clean design and the upbeat attitude that Trish presents.  And speaking of age, I love what Trish says about it — "I am definitely hearing the internal time clock. Tick, tock, tick, tock. Can you hear it? Some days I think it so loud that others around me can hear it. *g*"  Yeah, Trish, I hear it and I'm glad to have encountered it...
   
• RobbieShepherd.com 4/16/01 
  Description: "...I have used Netscape 6, but at no time did I inhale..."
  Comments: "It's not a design portal - it's my personal site" is repeated over and over as you mouseover Robbie's site name in a pixel font on the splash page.  I just got here and I'm already laughing as I click to enter.  Of course, Robbie had already set me up with that funny comment he submitted as a site description — "...I have used Netscape 6, but at no time did I inhale..."  His site renders the same in the newest versions of both browsers and though it's set up for 1024 resolution, I had no problem at all at 800x600.  Guess what, folks — it is a personal site and not a design portal.  There's some links on the cover, but everybody has links, and only 1/3 of them (7) are "design community" links.  So, in the same spirit as Robbie, let me repeat — "It's not a design portal - it's [his] personal site."  And a good personal site it is!  I really like the "bombdropper" thingy — it's interactive and interesting — real issues, so bring your "dogma" with you to share.  There's also an interesting Flash diversion on the main page that let's you make your own "art-house movie soundtrack." And I always go for the cool desktops, though you won't be finding the "windowlicker" on my computer any time soon:)  Robbie's a talented designer with a big sense of humor — his personal information at the bottom of the main page had me laughing as I left...
   
• BBQBOX 4/15/01 
  Description: a box contains extensive 2D and 3D animations, Flash and illustrations.
  Comments: The character standing on the chair at the drawing table is Eric Cheung a/k/a BBQ Wing, a 25 year old born in Hong Kong.  There's a strange culinary theme to the name of the site and all of the great illustration and animation pieces on display are presented as ingredients you'll find in Eric's "box."  Well — Eric's definitely cookin' with gas when it comes to design and art talent, so I guess the site's name is more than appropriate.  The look and feel is colorful and fun and the interface has to be the cutest use of Flash on the planet.  If he's not a professional cartoonist, he should be...
   
• Version City 4/14/01 
  Description: an experimental design area for us to display personal work and just bug out (Flash)
  Comments: There's a lot of design houses putting out "experimental" sites these days — in fact, the web has always been like that, though the word "experimental" seems to have been getting used more and more lately in describing these spin-offs.  In many cases, these sites are primarily intended to be self-promotional (in the business sense) and though they're described as "personal creative outlets" for wary commercial designers who need to do some design without restraints for a change, it's usually obvious where the motivations lie.  In the case of today's pick, it really does appear that fun is driving the project and that a place to "bug out" is really what it's all about.  Though their business name is mentioned in the copyright information, it's interesting that it's not linked — that, in my mind, says that this little playground they created is strictly "after hours."  Okay — so it will end up promoting them in a general way but I've got to commend them for keeping it real and non-commercial.  The result is an exceptional collection of Flash pieces among the various sections plus some cool static visual pieces in "miscellaneous articles" — great design and engaging content.  The user does need to be a little patient as things load, but the big, well-animated visuals are definitely worth it here.  Kudos to Max and the gang for this one — very nice...
   
• ButtonMonkey 4/13/01 
  Description: Personal site of a pixel jockey and web whore containing photography, artwork and a healthy dose of opionated blather.
  Comments: Today's pick has a background that's orange ala zeldman and a "bio" that reads like a fantasy tale, as if the monkey is living in a true, virtual reality.  It's a very personal site that provides a cool combination of "photography, artwork and opionated blather."  The blather found in "mindset" does a great job of familiarizing the user with the personality named Terry (a/k/a "Head Monkey").  "I have set my work phone to send my calls straight to voicemail hell on the first ring. Yeah, I know, antisocial bastard and all of that... What is even worse is that I refuse to leave messages for people. I have the 'How dare they not take my call' attitude."  Damn!  That could be me talking.  The photographs are big experimental puppies that are free to use in anyway you want, as long as selling them isn't what you have in mind and I think they're cool — especially those pictures in traffic where all the lights become trails of color from the long exposure times.  Damn!  I could have taken those pictures myself.  Then, there's the "canvas" with some of Terry's artistic works.  Damn!  Wish I could do that!  I guess you can see that I found it rather easy to relate to today's pick — I feel like I just dropped in on the guy and he was gracious enough to invite me in to hang out and shoot the breeze.  I like sites that produce a feeling like that...
   
• Subdisc 4/10/01 
  Description: experimental design from sweden (flash)
  Comments: Though you'll find a wealth of sites in the Portal Cool Zone that have been around a long time and are just as good as they've always been, one of my key missions here is to make you aware of brand new sites worthy of your time.  Today's pick launched just yesterday.  If you're set at 800x600 resolution, I suggest you either go into fullscreen mode or set your taskbar on "auto hide" if you're in Windows — that way, you won't miss part of the text at the bottom.  What I really like about today's pick is the cool Flash interface and clean, colorful look acheived by Swedish designer Marcus Ericsson.  There's some good content already with the promise of more in the works.  Even though it's hosted by the design firm he works for (which always comes off as being a little commercially promotional in my mind when the link to the "host" is so prominent), Marcus defines this as his own personal playground and that's exactly what it really appears to be.  It's got a fun look and feel and Marcus' creativity definitely goes in more than one direction.  The "merchandise" section even has a shopping cart feature, but it's non-commercial and where you'll find freely downloadable wallpapers and screensavers — only one of each at the moment, but I'm sure that's only temporary.  Then, there's the "jukebox" with several songs written by Marcus — they're not solo performances, though — he's got other musicians playin' with him and it's pretty good stuff.  Had to wait a bit for loading, but I'm on a low bandwith connection at home, so I really didn't mind.  I'm looking forward to seeing how the "exhibition" section grows — Marcus promises it will.  So — I'm pleased to share this 2-day-old site with ya — enjoy...
   
• izbak.com 4/8/01 
  Description: Flash movie with no end
  Comments: I've looked at today's pick several times before and was always impressed with the artsy use of Flash, combining photo elements with tasty graphics and sound.  It is one of those special Flash sites that uses the medium well to present the art of the creator — it's not about Flash — it just uses it as a tool.  That's a good thing.  I recently listed this site with about 15 others on my weblog, asking my visitors to check out the list and let me know if they like any of the listed sites.  My old friend Yo responded about this one — "it is most wonderful and as i would have said in the sixties *trippy, man*"  So, Yo's an artist and I understand what she means — it validated my opinion that today's pick is artistic and engaging.  But I have to admit I have an issue I think is worth bringing up.  This really isn't aimed at this site in particular, but rather is about a general thing I see happening on the web.  It's those soundtracks that are bothering me.  For some reason, the web has created the idea that it's okay to use other people's music, even if only for non-commercial purposes, without express permission from the owner of the piece.  For all I know, the producer of today's best of the cool may have actually received permission to use the various pieces, but I don't see that displayed anywhere, though in one case, it is mentioned who wrote one of the songs used.  It's also possible that the sound clips used on this site are royalty-free — like I said, my complaint is not about this site specifically because I frankly don't know if permission was obtained or not — it's just that I encounter a lot of sites that incorporate others' art into their own and I doubt that all of them are doing so with permission.  The last time I featured a site like this one, I did receive some feedback questioning whether we have the right to use others' art or music without their permission.  I agree that we don't have that right!  Creativity in its purest form equals originality...
   
• STRUCT 4/6/01 
  Description: structure-random-pattern-basic-form-examine-[º_º] (Flash)
  Comments: I've looked at today's pick at least a half dozen times over the last week, and sure enough, right after deciding to call it today's best of the cool, there appears to be some server problems.  But I'll stick with the pick and hope that the host is clearing up whatever is causing the "403 Forbidden" messages I'm getting from the site this morning.  Hopefully, by the time you read this review, the permissions, etc. will have been corrected, and you'll be enjoying today's pick.
  
  
  
  It's the type of Flash site that's perfect if you're in "explore" mode and interested in a type of web art that's really only possible with Flash.  In effect, Flash is the interface, and it's the content as well.  I think what separates a site like this from all those other Flash sites you'll hear me whining about on a regular basis, is that the experiments on display here are intelligent studies in form and motion that appear based on the designer's real understanding of actionscripting and the mathematical possibilities it allows.  There's a large assortment of engaging pieces that defy the clichés I keep encountering when looking at so-called Flash labs.  In the end, it's a matter of personal taste and I'm banking on this one pleasing the Flashers among us...
   
• stylewar 4/5/01 
  Description: an interactive platform for upcoming webdesigners to present their best work (Flash)
  Comments: It's amazing how some people use my contact form.  Some of them actually copy and paste long marketing press releases into the form as if coolstop is some sort of news service that God put here to help them promote their business and grow fat on the web.  Fortunately, most of the messages I receive through the form are not like that at all — I welcome your comments — if you have something to tell me about that applies to what's happening 'round here, especially if there's a site you want me to know about, please communicate and make it real, like a German designer named Kryzcek did yesterday. "Hi! You might want to check this out..."  So, I did and I'm thinkin' he was right.  Today's pick is a brand new portal to cool style and it's set up to be a contest of sorts — a war, if you will.  The Flash interface is superb and I really didn't mind waiting for the 340k to load — after all, it's the content at the other end of "loading" message that makes or breaks a site.  There's an excellent concept in place here, and though there's only a handful of sites in the archive so far, I see that changing real fast once people know that Kryzcek's site is out there.  After having been online for only a month, the site already has some excellent "contestants" in the archive.  If you like honest site reviews (wink wink, nudge nudge), then add Kryzcek's site to your bookmarks right under yours truly.  He's looking for sites with style and he's focusing on the people who make the sites.  It's about exposure and it's done in appreciation of great web design.  Well done screenshots and honest and direct site reviews and a 6-star rating system, all presented in a backdrop of great graphics and a slick interface are what you find here, not to mention the sources of inspiration that Kryzcek is sharing with you.  It's a high-end style kinda thing and I really like it...
   
• noahgreycom 4/2/01 
  Description: Between once upon a time and happily ever after.
  Comments: Don't be alarmed when you see the title of the splash page — "closed until further notice (click for old site)" — just be thankful that Noah kept the site up for us to enjoy.  He announced "an indefinite hiatus" on March 2nd, citing his need to figure out exactly where he fits in "the tapestry of life."  Again, I say thanks, Noah, for keeping the old site in place.  You see, I visited several times before, knowing how that "greymatter" you developed has been an answer for many bloggers — there's around 500 of them now and I truly wish that more of them were willing to donate, if only a little, in return for your extraordinary act of giving to the personal weblog community.  It's obvious you're not in it for the money and I have a feeling that the notoriety you've gained from your efforts is that not important to you.  Enough said on that, though — just wanted to recognize and thank Noah for what he gives to the web.  The reason I'm thankful that Noah left the old site up, though, is that on those previous visits to the greymatter site, I failed to realize how much great stuff is housed in Noah's domain.  The weblog/journal thing is one of the sweetest designs out there and more important, the content is personal writing at it's best.  Though I'm hoping to see Noah working things out and getting back to the site soon, there's absolutely no pressure here.  The archives go back to last October and there's plenty of interesting reading and mucho links, too.  Okay, so that's nice, but your resident photo freak (moi) will tell you that the "photolog" is the real grabber.  There's tons of wonderful shots with commentary included — I love it, I love it, I love it.  I've only mentioned a small part of the content that Noah has preserved on his "old site."  It's really superb — Noah's a real friend of the web and I'm wishing him the best in figuring out where "the road ahead" is leading (good things, I'm sure)...