LiveBooks has only recently become truly annoying to me as they have hit critical mass, but I’ve been cringing at the hundreds of NeonSky web sites that are just everywhere and all the same for more than 2 years (Jayson, when are you going to update templates?!).

If you want to see amazing design work then you need to dig into what Group 94 is doing. I don’t know what some of their high end photo sites (de Keyzer, Greenfield) cost and don’t want to either… I just want to drool. http://www.group94.com/home_old.php

http://www.jeremycowart.com

–Number one: Those scrolling, rotating, moving galleries of thumbnails, where you have to chase the thumbnail to TRY and see it big. I usually give up. Why photographers think anyone is impressed with complicated web sites full of bells and whistles is a mystery. This isn’t 1998, and we’re not hiring web designers - we’re hiring photographers and would just like to see some photos.

–Obscure naming of galleries. I prefer “advertising” or “commercial” “editorial” “personal” —- should be fairly straightforward.

–scans of tear sheets. just want to see photos in all their glory, we can visualize how they were - or could be - used.

Best feature:
–Web sites where a user can keep their mouse and eyes in the same spots, and just keep clicking through to see more photos. Like on an arrow. Like flipping through a portfolio. Simple. Without taking eyes off the full-size picture, to look for the thumbnail of the next picture to click on.

–It’s also a nice touch, welcome, appreciated, to have photographers acknowledge the AD’s or CD’s they collaborated with on some jobs…. humble, classy, rare:

example:
http://www.martienmulder.com/archive/advertising/index.php

nice blog PE!

I looked at the site and found it really creative and great programming. I give the photographer balls for doing it. I think the creatives would like the site very much. I liked the explorer feel of the site.

Now: let’s talk business. What happens if I ask my jr designer to get me Mahon’s phone number? I am gonna be pissed when it takes her 20 mins to find it… Or better yet, I want to send it to the creative director or make some prints for review. Often 5 photographers hang on the wall together and we look at their work together to choose a few to bid. How am I going to make a quick job out of that on Mahon’s site? A PDF would be nice, I am even happy with a few quick screen shots.

I think there is a fine line between form and function. There has to be some function to it. That is why Modernista!’s site is a good example - you can still get around, and it makes a statement. Find a balance.

In my carefully targeted individual emails, I say that my website “has no transition effects, animations or musical intros–just quick access to lots of content.”

Curious on Photoeditor feedback, a greeting from Italy

Red - are we the same person?

OMG no!

http://robinizer.de/

and don’t miss the adventures at Modernista while you’re at it:

http://www.modernista.com

Also, FolioLink is another affordable canned solution:

http://www.foliolink.com/

How would the five creatives react to Mahon’s site? This one would drive the fashion editor absolutely insane; she’d be reaching for the A.D.D. medicine, but you gotta give it to Mahon for having the balls to put it out there. And the little embedded videos of him and his assistant are great; they’re buried deep, but when you find them, you smile.

As a client, I’m sure I’d just hit the Close button after ten seconds, but as an Art Director, it’s got to make you feel free, like the breeze, and hand it to him for not going cookie-cutter.

http://matthewmahon.com/

As far as LiveBooks, I talked to them about a site, and asked how to hide the Thumbnails and the LiveBooks logo. Both of those things could be accomplished. But still, in the end, it still had that “mid-grade Chevrolet” feeling to it; nothing special at all, so I said no to that. Funny, they thought the sameness was a plus, in that Art Buyers didn’t have to re-figure out the interface. But of course they’d say that.

There is certainly a market out there for a simple, advanced, fast-loading slide show template. I just don’t think it’s been introduced though. Even though the demand is clearly there.

It is interesting to scroll through the comments to see what people like. I didn’t like Jasons site that much - the content was good, but the navigation was horrible - I had to click twice to get back to the home page. And above all - I hate the static HTML text across the top (3 blue links). I can think of 5 creative people in the agency I work with who would obsess as to why that was used. Then this could turn into a ‘your website sucks’ posting because a creative can’t look at content - only the whole package - presentation too. If you are going to do something different, go nuts and make a site like Modernista!.

I guess to each their own (you never know what people love or hate). Be sure your site is the best presentation for your work.

Far less expensive than other options plus two of their custom sites won Gold Medals in the PDN self-promo awards.

Jason Singe is the guy to speak to. Good folks. Fair and honest.

neonsky.com

using myspace is more creative and individual.

http://www.erikw.se
http://www.yerinmok.com
http://www.eliotshepard.com
http://www.alecsoth.com

Flash is crisp, pretty, and cool. But it’s expensive, slow, won’t always run on people’s computer (if your client base extends beyond big media) and make certain assumptions about who is going to buy your work. For your galleries and dissolves, Java will work wonders, there are quite a few pre-made packages out there for the cheap, and you can run a .css with .html to make the page pretty and functional at the same time.

Nothing more annoying then thumbnails that move, or don’t work, or are in a different spot every time you change to a new gallery.

also, most web designers worth their salt can install a content management system for you.