Most Original:

I’ve rewarded some more colorful and busy designs for Most Original, but this one really caught my eye. Study In English has a great website that really breaks away from the norm of professional training or course/class design. Though the landing page is nothing impressive, the most original tid bit that I saw all week were the minor flash effects that really pack a lot of punch. The sub pages are fun to look at, and I love the way the animation displays the pictures that I click. Very original.

Tip: Breaking the norm can be a dangerous thing. After all, it is considered the norm for a reason. Small flash tidbits are slowly becoming popular again, sneaking their way into popular websites. It may be the next trend. Don’t be afraid to use flash when necessary, especially if it’ll give life to an otherwise boring and mediocre design.

Boldest Design:

Red has always been one of my most difficult colors to work with. It’s such a strong color that has strong connotations with it already. When you see read, you automatically assume romantic, or violent. It’s very hard to apply red (in large portions) to websites that fall outside of those themes. However, Move Networks did a great job using the Red as an eye-catching, sleek website that really puts the focus on its product by giving a heavy contrasting white center content.

Tip: How did Move Networks pull off using so much red? Well, when using heavy amounts of red, you need to keep the main page design simple. Red can be a very overwhelming and responsive color, so cluttering the main page or involving a lot of content that requires a lot of reading could push a user away. Less is more when using red.

Most Professional:

Webinale offers one of the more colorful designs I’ve seen all week. Multcolored websites are generally ruled as a no-no, but Webinale is able to pull it off because of its background. I offered a tip last week to take the background into more consideration. It can be the cohesive element that your website needs. By having such a colorful background, Webinale has automatically made their viewers aware of its colorful theme, and even works to their benefit by offering that they are diverse.

Tip: Yor color scheme will make or break your site design. Make sure that your background has a significant part in working with the colors of your content. Colors will set the mood of your site and that must reflect your client’s brand.

Most Innovative:

Beckfield College launched a brand new site design. I think it’s a complete success. A fairly young school (founded in 1984) their site appeals to their demographic. They understand what the college kids are looking for. I’m not saying that they are the only ones with a nice design, but its a trend setting one. College campuses are all starting to revamp their websites to reflect the new age and technology. I can’t wait to see some beautiful sites on the horizon. Beckfield is only the beginning.

Tip: Always be innovative. If you see that the project your working on is starting to look like every other one that you’ve made, it’s time to hit the think tank. Innovation is key to your career as a freelancer and by understanding how to set trends, and how to manipulate an industry to your advantage you will certainly succeed.

Site of the Week:

Puma launched a new social network called Puma Talk. I think it looks like a great success and is definitely appealing to the 18-25 age demographic. I think it’s a great new look for Puma and its wonderful to see the corporations slowly starting to take advantage of the whole “web 2.0″ wave. The design is creative and original and really reflects Puma’s brand and identity.

Tip: Knowing who your site is being shown too is probably one of the most essential bits of information that you could have. It should really dictate your color scheme and site’s theme and feel. Puma’s executed a nicely designed site that feels creative and unique, just like the demographic they are after.

Artist of the Week:

A great new group that I recently got into is OneRepublic. They’ve got an emotional single called, “Apologize” and it was really interesting to me. I ended up buying their CD, and a couple weeks later, I’ve got concert tickets. A couple weeks later, I’ve continued to listen to OneRepublic while I’m working and their catchy sounds and rhythmic voices are very appealing when I’m working. I highly recommend them to you guys.