I’m intrigued by sites that are blatantly bare of calls-to-action,
that don’t flood you with things to click on,
that don’t manically suggest you share, like, comment, tickle, twist, body-slam.
It is a lot to deal with.
We see so much stuff online, and the sites we visit have so much stuff, and our social accounts have so much stuff, that it’s pleasantly alarming when a digital presence is bare, respectful of your attention, realistic about its importance in your life.
Some examples…
Smell Your Destiny is from the 90s. It’s a concept site imagining a world in which fish exhalations help improve human social traits. (Very weird.)
Triple Canopy is a digital literary magazine. It places equal emphasis on design and content.
Richard Viigen is an impressive Dutch information designer.
It’s unrealistic to expect brands to mirror these small-scale, art-and-culture-driven sites, but it’s valuable to strive to create similar user experiences. I remember and respect sites that don’t annoy me.