The Reflection: In defense of a Web 2.0 Design Trend!
Yesterday an interesting topic arose among my co-workers based on a Signal vs. Noise recent post, “Reflections are the new drop shadows”. I’ve been notorious for using “reflections” around the office on some of our more high profile projects – is this wrong? Am I a trend whore whose designs will date themselves almost instantly? Am I a bad designer because I can’t think for myself and rely on others creativity? Ignore your predisposition towards trends and the visual to ask, does it make good business sense to utilize these “web 2.0” design trends?
On almost all of my personal ventures, you will find very little reflections, drop-shadows or other visuals elements now synonymous with and popularized by the “web 2.0” trend. So, why do I include the “reflection” in my commissioned projects; why do I almost assume it’s essential for some projects? The answer is simple; I know and design for my audience.
Whether we like it or not, “web 2.0” as a term exist. It means many things to many people, but it conveys something universal: the best-of-the-best in internet technology, design and experience at this particular point in time. As most of you roll your eyes and start to consider removing my feed from your reader, remember one thing; you are a different audience than the one I typically design for. My typical audience is “everyone”; the “average Joe” if you will. To the non tech savvy, non creative designer and non business oriented users of the world; “Web 2.0” is a great word synonymous with quality, professionalism, and most importantly, value. What great and powerful attributes; ones we should all only hope for when assessing our brand awareness and understanding.
So, why do I defend such “web 2.0” cliché trends such as the “reflection”; because my audience is trained to identify such elements, when properly used and placed, with concepts such as “Web 2.0”. I know many of you hate the term, but remember; you are not my audience. My audience loves the term and yearns to explore and play with anything associated with it. So, yes the term and the styles associated with it are all short term. But, hell, this is the internet; isn’t one of the powers behind designing for the web is its ability to quickly change and adapt? We as designers must be trained to do the same. We must be able to quickly change and adapt our “styles” with those of the industry and the meanings they convey.
Know your audience, know what visual elements convey meaning and value to that audience and design accordingly.
- September 19th, 2006
- 21comments
- I am a proud member of the 9rules network
“Web 2.0 is a great word synonymous with quality, professionalism, and most importantly, value.“
Sometimes. To people in the know it’s also synonymous with trend-based style, fad technology, and a focus on “do it because we can, not because we should.” To your average joe it’s extremely reminiscent of the dot com bubble, which is synonymous with overhyped, overpayed, and ultimately wasteful business practices - none of which are messages you want to broadcast.
Newsvine is pretty Web 2.0-ish, but is actually fairly conservative in style. It’s good evidence that a site can offer the tech buzzwords while having them serve a useful purpose, all without using graphic cliches to try to make users aware of the backend (which wouldn’t serve a worthwhile purpose anyway).
“Ignore your predisposition towards trends and the visual to ask, does it make good business sense to utilize these web 2.0 design trends?“
I’m not sure what you mean by ignoring the visual while thinking about design trends, but in terms of business sense I think reflections are just fine for a project if you accept beforehand that it will age and will look dated fairly quickly. Sometimes Web 2.0 style is perfectly acceptable, if for example the company is selling Web 2.0-ish products to web designers (example: CrazyEgg), but for your average Joe on the vast majority of other websites reflections simply aren’t going to carry the same message. They won’t say “this is Web 2.0″, they will just be a pleasing visual effect. Or at least will be until overuse turns reflections into just another dropshadow.
M point with “Web 2.0” being synonymous with something is more subconscious than anything else. A visual design can be a compelling and powerful aspect of any site – it can convey meaning and purpose before you truly know what the site is, or how it functions. If the site looks “fresh”, “new”, “hip”, “up-to-date” or can somehow convey technological prowess from a first impression; then you’ve done a terrific job.
The “average Joe” might not make the direct relationship between reflections and “Web 2.0”, but the more a site looks like what one might expect out of a “Web 2.0” website, the higher quality and value the user might have initially.
I don’t mean to suggest you have to use overly trendy elements such as reflections to convey quality or prowess; but boy does it help with the average web user. Please don’t go out and start adding reflections to everything – just defending my use of what some designers might label an abolishment to creative design.
I don’t know why the Web design world feels they have to do this sort of introspection of trends and fads. Any and every design decision–made by a professional designer–is always based on the message it conveys to, and impact it has on, the target audience. Shouldn’t that go without saying? For some reason, the community seems to have this need to come out and go back and forth, pointing out design trends (Signal vs Noise) and then replying with excuses for the use of them (your column here).
Is our industry, our community, really this immature? We know drop shadows have their place. Rounded corners have their place. Gradients, glows, and reflections have their place. Shouldn’t the more popular voices in the industry spend more time writing about where these elements are appropriate, rather than fueling ridiculous debate over what elements you should and shouldn’t use because of their popular use?
Now, I know people are going to say, “Well if you think we should be talking about this and that, start your own blog…” I’m thinking about it. But in either case, I’m not going to achieve the popularity and readership that certain designers and developers have, so the responsibility is squarly on their shoulders for the meantime.
Colin,
Excellent point, perfectly valid with every sentence!
However, as I design for my audience I also write for it as well. I typically write about things that come up often as questions – not controversial topics, but topics I time and time again see discussion around with no real clarity. Not that I proclaim my point of view as clarity for the community – but I offer up my doubts, opinions and insights into my reasoning for decisions.
We are designers by nature, most of us, and we strive to ask why. We want to know why green and orange go well together or why one logo evokes a feeling that another cannot. How come one design seems timeless and then suddenly becomes annoyingly dated? If we don’t ask and answer these questions we don’t grow as creative types.
The guys are Signal vs. Noise made it clear that the “reflection” style will become more popular than it is now by way of Apple’s implementation. They also suggest it will become a dated and overused style much like the “drop-shadow”. Most would suggest that we simply stop using the reflection, others would ridicule us for even suggesting its use – I do use it and I have logical reason for every design choice I make. I am simply stating it here for the masses to embrace or ignore.
It isn’t the web community that has a need to debate or discuss these design issues – it is the creative designer in all creative types that demands insight, rhyme and reason. Creativity is an art, but in our industry it needs a strong business to support it. This is why I typically refer to my thoughts as “business-oriented-design”.
stop the reflections, the gradients, the hot pinks. design shouldn’t be effects it should be ideas. like the notion of http://www.personalinfocloud.com/2006/01/the_come_to_me_.html“>The Come To Me Web
I’m with Colin, I don’t understand why people spend so much time being concerned with it. Some people don’t understand why they copy a trend (I like your qualifier Colin), some people do, some people are more influenced, some people less. So what? Again, as Colin noted, the important thing is that you’re using elements for the right reasons, you know why you’re using them, that they have purpose.
People seem to continually forget there was a trend right before the current one that everyone was being influenced by, and there will surely be another coming. In the computer age of design alone we’ve had David Carson, 2 Advanced, Mike Young, and Web 2.0, as some very influential design trends; to make no mention of the thousands of other smaller ones. (Hell I’d nearly argue that eventually complaining about the trend becomes the new trend.) And before that, any study of art or design history will show you the same repeated patterns, that’s why they’re called art movements.
“Any and every design decision–made by a professional designer–is always based on the message it conveys to, and impact it has on, the target audience.“
Seriously? Are you still in school?
“Is our industry, our community, really this immature?“
Absolutely, and I would guess most industries have similar ‘debates’ (otherwise known as navel gazing).
I like reflections, but iTunes went overboard. Mark my words, you can count on seeing many, many horrible implementations of reflections driven by clients who want the “iTunes look”. You’ll see in everywhere from menus to yellow page ads to billboards (if you haven’t already).
“Seriously? Are you still in school?“
Eh? Either your sarcasm is too vague, or you really want to know.
And to be clear, Martin, I’m not ridiculing you for using the effect then making excuses, I’m just taking your article as an example of this trend in the Web design community of following trends, spotting trends, ridiculing trends, and finally excusing the use of the trend. We’re constantly cutting a circle around our feet (or a square with rounded corners) and falling down the next level–next trends, next discussion, next needless excuses. It’s just not constructive, yet it gets so much attention.
In any case, I’m enjoying your articles, and our discussions over at CSSBeauty.com< (Yo soy “PettyRider”)
But “art movement” sounds so much more sophisticated than “trend”.
Colin (PettyRider),
I appreciate the comments and glad you enjoy the articles and CSS Beauty discussions.
I think everyone has valid points and perhaps focusing on trends it’s merely subjective — too each his own? I’ve found logic and reason for doing it myself in my business ventures, so I will continue to research, read about, explore and try and understand design trends as long as I am a professional designer.
Remember.
We are often times not trying to create great works of art, most often it isn’t even really “art” (subjective opinion).
What about the direct mail print job: a 4×6 postcard-sized marketing piece whose existence will be no more than 3 days on a kitchen countertop, at best, before it makes its way to the trash bin? If using something such as a reflection can help take you from the middle of the mail pile to the top or even keep you on the countertop for an extra couple of hours, then use it and use that influential and subconscious power. This is a creative design whose whole existence is to quickly and immediately influence the recipient to take some sort of action; whether physical or mental.
The product and the product design in this case is the long-term business. The one-time direct marketing message is short-term with specific short-term objectives. This small 4×6 piece of stock card isn’t meant to make anyone more creative – it is simply to evoke an emotion and trigger an action.
You are a moron defending this fad. Can’t polish a turd, can ya.
“Can’t polish a turd, can ya.”
No, but you can sell it. They call it “fertilizer”.
ghayes –> Great response, couldn’t have said it better myself.
As a new, young designer i find my clients that I run across love this new trend, i am sorry i did not get a chance to read every response, but i do believe there is a new look coming up, and this reflection instead of drop shadow is the beginning.
Since the dawn of graphic design especially on the web, people have been staring at 2d objects and 2d figures by a color on another color ontop of another color. Its kind of nice to see a little break in the design flow.
I believe its just another way of throwing a gradient on there. (Sure its a mask) but its still a gradient. even this website coverys a “3d feel” to it with the blue on light blue gradient. You can definetly tell the difference between a grey button and a glossy grey button because of the use of gradients.
My point is, gradients are completely overused, but in this case its used as a technique for an illusion that is different from the “norm” — I hope this doesnt become a regular
btw i love the site i think its great and i love the articles :)
William,
Great points, I agree with you on trying to break outside the mold of traditional 2d design — why not push the limits? Also, I appreciate the comments!!
Web2.0 rocks. Why not have a bit of fun. The designs are nice and clean. I’m glad we are getting away from frag forum grunge sites.
I am with you! When did design have to stop being fun?
everyone on this post is absolutely right.
long live the current design trend! At least its a point of reference in a sea of dirge and incongruent haze.
It is quite amazing that someone didn’t flip a copy of something and fade it out like ten years ago on ‘harvard graphics’ or something and cause a rift in the space-time continuum.
Like anything else, reflections used in moderation are safe.
Carson –> Right on. I just get frustrated when people say not use something. Don’t ever not do something, ask why to do it or if it works. Be your own designer — if you like a “trend” and it works, use it responsibly.