Mobile Moment Monday: Àlex De Fluvià

Image created by Charles Williams, 

Screenshots of alexdefluvia.com

One thing I like is clean, innovative and original designs.  With responsive designs becoming the norm, instead of just being a "new" idea, every Monday I am going to start critiquing and presenting some websites that deserve a little recognition for their thoughtful design principles.

Today, I would like to introduce alexdefluvia.com. Àlex de Fluvià is a painter from Barcelona that is recognized around the globe.  His paintings are much like graffiti on canvas, much of which represents social and political resistance.

What I like about his website is the simplicity behind it.  The website is basically a portfolio for his paintings.  There is a link for news stories involving Fluvià's paintings, along with a link to a short biography. Everything else about this website is visual. The homepage consists of a header, some links, and a revolving background slideshow.  Once you click on one of the links however, that is when you can truly appreciate this website. Most of the background images are in black and white, unless it is displaying one of his paintings.  Once you click on the "paintings" link, then it gives you a nice symmetrical boxed visual menu, sorted by year, to view Fluvià's paintings.  The black and white background makes these image links pop out of the page.  His "works on paper" link follows the same format.

What is  special about this website is the responsive design.  Once you start adjusting the size of your browser on a regular desktop, you can see how the image links adjust their size and the main links switch to the bottom of the page.  All divs, images and links adjust accordingly.  This allows for one design for all screen sizes, so viewers are not redirected to a "mobile version" of his website, but you get a uniform experience no matter what device you are using. The only thing that holds this website back is its obtrusive "malware" warning that appears when trying to view this website through Google Chrome.  The code that allows the revolving background images comes up as a trojan horse warning, which will keep people from viewing his page.  While I am aware that the code is harmless, most people brought to his website probably will not.

I found this website via the article, 10 Great Examples of Responsive Design from Around the World, hosted on Econsultancy - Digital Marketing Excellence. Please check out Àlex De Fluvià website, and some of the other examples on the Econsultancy article for inspiration. For more information on responsive design, check out Wikipedia's article for a thorough explaination.

I will be posting a new blog each Monday to review some of the better (or worse) responsive designs on the web.  I hope these posts will help inspire other new web designers out there, and if you would like to post your own examples of good (or bad) responsive designs, feel free in the comments section.

Picture of the Week : Change

Image courtesy of Clip Art Lab

Many web designers and website owners know that the Internet is changing.  Everyone has seen this with the explosion of mobile media. Everybody wants an app, or a mobile version of a website. About 67% of Internet users in 2013 admit that they do most of their Internet browsing on their mobile devices.

But what does this mean for those website owners that already have their websites established?  Plain and simple: It's time to upgrade.  Just like maintaining and buying new parts for your car, you have to maintain and make changes to your websites.  Content gets outdated, certain technologies get outdated, and new technologies require those businesses that have a website to upgrade.  Mobile technology has forced that upon us.

If you have not already looked into the benefits of making your website mobile, Vitamin Talent's infographic  and Social Media Today's infographic both are good easy to read visual examples of why mobile design is so important today.

Not only has it become a requirement to develop mobile versions of existing websites, but experts are recommending that if you have not already established a website for you business, you should consider developing the mobile version first.  Most designers nowadays have actually closed the gap on having a desktop version of a website and mobile version of a website by developing websites that are considered responsive.

What is your opinion?  Leave me a comment and tell me what you think.