Kottke Redesigns

A lot of people ask me where I find so much random stuff on the Interwebs. If they ask where they can look when they want to find something new, the first place I always point them to is kottke.org.

NYC-based blogger Jason Kottke has been one of the Internet's best for years, and he's been a daily read for me since sometime around 2000.

What's his blog about? Well, that's sorta tough to explain. Kottke acts as a filter for all of the vast information available on the Web, linking each day to the stories, tidbits and oddities he things are most interesting.

A keen eye, consumption of vast volumes of information, humility, and good taste seem to be Kottke's keys to success. He's also not afraid to take risks.

Today Kottke's trademark yellow-themed site was offline for a while. The placeholder posted on his site said he was making some changes to the site's backend.

The site has returned, and he did a whole lot more than change the backend. Gone is the yellow and the font he developed. Instead, the site has a graded-blue border, a subduded, Frontline-esque logo, a larger, consistent font, and posts that aren't clearly separated.

When reading any individual post, the larger font and framing blue gradient create a strong feeling that you're reading an individual page -- a piece of paper -- instead of a website or blog post. Scrolling through posts, however, feels more constrained and muddy -- the frame feels smaller, and there are no longer any clear separating elements between posts.

All told, the new look was a shock. In a couple months I'm sure I'll love the new look and think of the former design as passe. For now, I'll need to adjust. Bold change, nice move. Not that he's asking, but I'm impressed.