A quite mystique phrase is spreading over the internet world for the last few years. Web 2.0 - the miracle?? Interaction and concentration on the needs of users are there since the web started. In my opinion it is more the design, the fonts, the appearance which moved in the so called Web 2.0 website.
History in African Masks How african masks are related with this question? Lets have a short glimps to history of art. We had a comparable change in the world of design slightly more than hundred years ago, when “modern art” started to spread. Up to the end of 19th century, the known art was “boring” - nice but not attractive to our eyes. A great change took place when a modern simplicity of design, developed in view of african masks and african figures, became famous in Europe. Actually the old african tribes had carved their african masks in a abstract, simple and valuable style, that even nowadays you can put african masks on top of any book. What is their secret?? It is the abstract form of the african masks, with details like ears “great” in size, the natural colour worn by long use, and the careful carving really resembling to the art objects of todays internet designers.
So lets focus on the first majour conclusion: it is simplicity, which is a key factor. And it could well be the case, that this is the most important factor. Simple construction, simple fonts.Combined with the freedom to do the things like you want: strong and colourful.
But let us check at some typical examples of Web 2.0 design. One interesting example is a site about fonts. Yes, one of these boring places with thousands of fonts - or not? Well, have a closer look yourself how one can make a font site a great experience. A nice example for such a uptodate design place with fonts depicts the combination of a simple but unsual design, strong colours, great visuals … and the best fonts you may find.
One more example, how to make a boring thing to a innovative attraction may be a standard web directory. Not a web directory with a lot of uggly advertising, no - a simple, colourful web directory immediately becomes a great thing.
Both websites - the website with fonts and the web directory - are quite puristic in concept. Indeed you don´t need too many colours. But you can play with them if you like. In contrast to a web directory anime sites are in most cases colourful - dedicated to younger people loving anime storeis. But an anime site just black-and-white would not be attractive. So this unusual anime website draws its attractiveness from the simplicity. No text, just one picture to start. Only if you use your mouse, you come to the services this anime site offers.
In this way african masks showed a great influence on modern things like web directory, anime or font site - funny, isn’t it?