The design of my blog is based on one simple dictum:
Most websites are over-engineered.
If you disagree with me, here's an example.
My grandma cooks banana bread. Her recipe-of-choice comes from a specific baking website. After typing the URL into the address bar of her aging HP Pavilion, she reaches the site and is immediately inundated with popups, advertisements, and demands for her email address.
If you've ever browsed for recipes online, you've probably noticed that most websites are like this: over-engineered. The ingredients list is buried halfway down the page. You have to scroll past the recipe-maker's life story and an unnecessarily long list of share buttons just to know what to buy.
The error in this website is, of course, that it has removed the focus from its primary content. It's as if the article lacks faith in itself, relying instead on flashy design to convince the reader that it is indeed a good banana bread recipe.
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| Probably not the world's best pancake recipe |
Plenty of influencers talk about "slopification" --- the influx of bad design due to AI. What I'm talking about is different. What I'm talking about is the gradual shift of prioritizing style over substance. Websites are degrading their functionality for the sake of glitz and glamour.
It seems we've collectively resigned to this type of overwrought digital design. I know I sound like "Old Man Yells at Cloud," but you hopefully understand where I'm coming from. And this isn't a new idea. Some premier publishing websites are returning to more functional design.
As is this blog.
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