A JavaScript, CSS, XHTML web log focusing on usability and accessibility by Dustin Diaz
First off, this is a side note. This is my first time using the WordPress quick ‘blog it’ shortcut marker they provide you in the writing manager. So just to let you know, I’m blogging this straight from a tiny 400×400 pixel window. *sigh*
Today I stumbled upon yet another CSS gallery website via del.icio.us’s popular category.
See CSS Import ™ | The CSS Gallery
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September 22nd, 2005 at 10:35 pm
It wouldn’t be bad, except for the fact they all have the same sites and typically offer the same information. If each one had a niche they would collectively be wonderful. But alas I am likely dreaming.
Maybe I should start a CSS gallery website. Let me think about it….
… naa I will stick with web design. Thanks for the link though.
September 22nd, 2005 at 10:38 pm
Lots of beautiful stuff in there, glad you pointed it out. Definite minimalist with vibrant graphics thing going on right now, I like it.
September 23rd, 2005 at 7:08 am
I agree with Justin, but I’m more inclined toward James’ opinion. They all serve the same purpose, and they all serve the same market. If you want a reference as simple and effective as this one, do what I do. Create a folder on your machine labeled “design inspiration” and save anything to it (pictures, screenshots, icons, template designs) that strike you as interesting. I’m all about coming up with original designs, but having an archive (or morgue file as one of my old college professors would call it) is a great way to get inspired.
I actually have an idea for a gallery that WILL be a more of a niche effort. It’s on the back burner right now, but it’ll be good when it’s done and that’s about all I can tell you. :)
September 23rd, 2005 at 10:05 am
Interesting takes all of you. My original thoughts were “gosh, another one? are standards still that poor?” The fact of the matter is, I guess they are.
What styleGala and cssImport don’t take into account is the ‘ol run of the mill websites that have beautiful markup - but just average designs. cssBeauty on the other hand has full rights on finding the beautiful designs ’cause it’s in their name :D.
Overall my general feeling is that eventually these gallery websites are going to have to turn into gallery design showcases because using standard xhtml and css isn’t going to cut it anymore.
September 23rd, 2005 at 12:01 pm
I’ve been visiting there for a while now.
While I still check it out now and then, I find that it seems to really be an “import.” They seem to get sites from all the other galleries and post it on their’s. Of course it could just be coincidence, but I sort of doubt it…
September 23rd, 2005 at 2:14 pm
@Elliot:
Yes, pretty much *all* website galleries have this problem, that’s pretty much what Jason is contending above.
The point of a site like CSS Import (or Stylegala or whatever) is how the gallery is presented and if there valuable feedback (if that’s what you’re looking for). I like CSS Import because it just is a dump of thumbnails. No fuss, just straight to the point.
As for CSS Import having the same featured websites as other galleries, what do you expect? A good website is a good website. If the purpose of a website is to feature good websites, then what more are you expecting?
For the record, all the sites I liked in CSS Import where not featured in the other site galleries I visit.
September 23rd, 2005 at 2:26 pm
What about http://www.powazek.com/ ?
Besides that, cssImport had sites like alistapart, jasonsantamaria, and firewheel design… I mean come on, these are all nobrainers and have been out for a while. All these sites could have been found elsewhere. Justin has a point that a good website is a good website, but I just figured that it would be nicer to seek out the non-obvious. Find the one’s that nobody hasn’t heard about yet.
September 23rd, 2005 at 2:39 pm
I really liked: Broken Kode, Titoonic, William Peng, and Noscope to name a few. None of which I’ve seen elsewhere (not that I check lots of galleries though).
September 23rd, 2005 at 3:27 pm
Right, but when the same sites are showcased on the same day, somebody’s copying somebody. Maybe it’s not the CSS Import, but somebody is. It seems extremely unlikely to me that different sites ran by different people are going to be going through and publishing their submissions on the exact same day.
September 23rd, 2005 at 4:06 pm
Very true Elliot, thanks for clarifying.
In some ways, I think it’s ok for one site to “copy” another in this respect. Like when there is some noteworthy news (the release of Mint, for example) item that first appears on Shaun Inman. Before you know it, it’s on every web design related blog in the world. It happens *all the time*, but nobody ever complains about that. If a website is hot, it’s natural progression is to be featured on all the website showcases.
But, if there is duplication just for the sake of fresh content, I would agree with you 100%. I don’t want to name any names, but I’m definately looking at one CSS showcase site in particular (not CSS Import) when it comes to being a follower.
September 24th, 2005 at 5:09 pm
It’s funny you brought up powazek.com Dustin. I just put my foot in my mouth last weekend when I mistakenly called him a “print designer” in the comments over at yesterdayishere. Didn’t know this before, but apparently he’s been around for a while. He’s been interviewed by digital-web and zeldman. Oops. :)
Also, after making that comment before about a design archive, I decided to write up a post about creating a design archive with Apple’s Automator.
September 24th, 2005 at 11:12 pm
Dude. Jason. I read the comments at yesteryear… I’m totally sorry. It also sounds like someone took the criticism a little too harsh too. bum deal though.
September 25th, 2005 at 5:42 pm
Eh, it’s no big deal. I’ve gotten in the habit of being a little too zealous lately about stuff that doesn’t really matter. I think I need to be a little more graceful. Especially in the comments on other blogs.
September 26th, 2005 at 12:24 pm
Hi.
Just stumbled upon this discussion in Google and wanted to address a few things:
1) There is a lot of similarity in what we showcase because we receive the same submissions.
As an example, I saw that Powazek site on Simplebits and posted it in the evening thinking this was a great find. To my disappointment, Stylegala also put it up the very next morning.
2) Yes there are old sites getting posted in the gallery, but we feel they would be useful to our visitors once they are archived. Additionally we have only been around a few months, so we wanted to include them somewhere, and our gallery happens to be chronological.
3) I do agree that there are many sites out there that do the same thing. However we didn’t always like the sites being featured elsewhere, so we decided to build our own.
Again the overlap is hard to avoid because we get the same submissions, and sometimes our opinions tend to overlap also.
4) We are always looking for suggestions on how we can improve the user’s experience, so please feel free to contact us in this regard.
Cheers.
June 25th, 2006 at 4:52 am
I guess it was only a matter of time before an idea like this popped up. I was so fed up with checking all of the different CSS gallery sites, so I’ve built a site to index and aggregate them all (with help of the list above).
http://css-galleries.com
I hope it’s useful for someone :-)