Why are websites embarrassing?

One of the most gratifying aspects of web design and development is the lateral thinking involved. There is rarely ever an objective and singular correct   way to go about achieving something. You have to consider all the different contexts a user will encounter on your site, how you want them to interact with it, what you want to elicit in t

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I think that’s what’s required to build great websites and teach the next generation of web folk. Ultimately we need to unthink of these things as tools for developers and see them for what they really are; a playground, a wellspring, for making websites.

What would happen if we stopped treating the web like a blank canvas to paint on, and instead like a material to build with?

The web also needs diligent people so that the idea of what the web is and what it does remains legible to everyone. This applies to being able to read the systems and social environments the web creates so we know what’s real and what’s not, but the call for legibility should also humbly apply to writing legible code and designs systems that are e... See more

Illegibility comes from complexity without clarity. I believe that the legibility of the source is one of the most important properties of the web. It’s the main thing that keeps the door open to independent, unmediated contributions to the network. If you can write markup, you don’t need Medium or Twitter or Instagram (though they’re nice to have)... See more

A website is a container that shapes our work; a space where we can cultivate our own garden, planting seeds of ideas and watching unexpected connections bloom. This approach introduces friction – a quality Brown sees as necessary for meaningful creation: “More often than not, I find that what I need is some friction, some labor, the effort to work... See more