Don't date your work. Good design is timeless.
I love watching YouTube, but I was getting tired of the same "sit in front of the camera like you're talking to me" video essay format. I was yearning for something bright, colorful, silly, and uncurated. I missed the DIY videos that my 15-year-old self was eating up in 2015. So, I went to YouTube and tried to filter by the oldest videos, only to find that the feature was gone. After searching through Reddit threads where people were complaining about the feature's removal, I continued my search. Finally, I searched "DIY before: 2015," and there it was—my shining beacon of light: "10 Ways to Make 2015 Your Year."
In the video, My Life as Eva and LaurDIY share a bunch of DIYs, from craft ideas to recipes. It's colorful, intoxicatingly positive, and boldly a product of its time. Why can't we have that now? Why do all the websites look the same?
While standardization of UX has improved efficiency and accessibility, it has also brought with it uniformity.
Where it's heading
There is a growing emphasis on play and delight, and products like Arc Browser are returning to the personalization of spaces on the internet. The other day, I had customized my Figma with vividly pink Comic Sans embellishments. But when I was screen sharing with the other designers in my team for a design critique, they were really laughing. I didn't mind because I thought it was funny too. But looking back, I think there is a push for everyone to conform to social norms and what they think is cool.
There's a tough chance you'd think about using Comic Sans for your text editor because nobody likes it.
GirlsGoGames.com
As I think about the Shopaholic games I loved in the 2010s, I remember how much fun shopping was in the game and how cool the stores and characters looked. I don't think about how it looks so Y2K or McBling or Fruitiger Aero. Everything today has to have a "core" or an aesthetic. Those flash games and the platforms were just being themselves, confidently so. Look around at Steam or the Nintendo game store. It's not the same. I know I sound like a "Back in my day" granny, but I've seen people collectively agree on how everything looks the same nowadays.
Stop trying to be timeless
Let's go beyond play and delight. Let's feel okay about making things look like they are true to the original creative vision while still staying accessible and inclusive. It's okay for things to look like they belong to a specific time; that's what makes them special.
K bye
Akshara <3
Some sites that embody this spirit
My v1 portfolio: Still in the works of improving it, but I wanted it to look organic-- like a scrapbook vs a site :)
The Hydrant Directory: Hydrants in various colors
Rock on : I love me a shiny rock, mm..crunchy
Artificial life: Insects: The background has a solid nostalgia factor
I found these on an Are.na collection, but Polina has so many more: Love at First Site
and Neocities (although probably not very many responsive or accessible sites)