I know, many of you in web design have been saying “If I hear ‘Web 2.0′ again, I’m going to barf!” We’re all sick of it, but if you work in web design, you have clients coming to you asking to make their sites “web 2.0″. You might as well have one agreed-upon standard for getting it right.
That’s just what this guide does. Very complete and yet easy to scan, it touches on every aspect from layout to logos, setting down once and for all what exactly Web 2.0 is and what it is not. It uses lots of examples and spots trends you probably didn’t even notice.
Part of the Web 2.0 design trend has been inspired by the move to mobile platforms. If you browse websites on a cell phone, the smaller icons and logos, simpler design, and cleaner, clearer aesthetic works far better on a small screen than the old styles.
What has me curious is, what’s coming after this? The soft and glossy design style is great, but with everybody doing it perhaps we’ll look back on this time as a sort of “disco era”, when the Web 2.0 design trends are all associated with the first decade of the 21st century. Look back on the styles of the 1960s, 70s, and 80s – you cannot look at a pair of bell-bottom pants or a polyester leisure suit and not know immediately what decade it came from. When we look back on Web 2.0 and say, “That’s so aughties!”, what styles will we be using then?
Peter Brittain