Young & Rubicam

www.yandr.com

Communication Arts Design Annual 49, Nov 2008, p144
Firm: Y&R Advertising, Irvine, CA

This international advertising company does some incredibly innovative work and their website show it off in a very clean minimalistic way. (Steve - you'll like this one.)
The site uses a clean white background with only simple understated text links in vertical columns. Each page has a unique eye-catching image or film and a dividing line the viewer controls that acts as a sliding door to reveal more text or more image.
This site very effectively packs in an abundant variety of their portfolio. Some of the films take a while to load, but be patient — they're worth it. Be sure to check out the Spring Valley promotion under INNOVATION. If you have the time to explore this site, you will be well-entertained and very impressed.

Laurie Rosenwald

www.rosenworld.com

Designer: Laurie Rosenwald
Source: Communications Art Interactive Annual 14, Sept/Oct 2008, p14

After reading Laurie Rosenwald's article about making mistakes on purpose in order to create, I decided to check out her website and was not disappointed. It seems to be so random and off the wall that it just charms the socks off of you. I found myself exploring and exploring until I looked in every nook and cranny. Looking at her site feels like a walk through her subconscious. It's an art playground. The creative thinking oozes out. If you get a chance to check it out, click on the bee image to watch her animated shorts. After listening to her narrate, I've added her to my-people-I'd-like-to-meet list!

Paper Critters

papercritters.com

Designer: Ruperto Fabito, Jr.
Source: Communication Arts Interactive Annual 14, Sept/Oct 2008 p126

This fun interactive site allows the user to create 3-D paper box people that can be used digitally or actually printed to paper and made into toys. The site is artsy, intuitive, and somewhat addictive. I liked the hip colors and the well laid-out "floor plan" of the design. The logo reminds me of Pac-Man and lends to the adolescent appeal of the site. Be sure to check out the attached video. It's a 1-minute mini movie featuring a day in the life of paper critters. Coming from a family of aspiring filmmakers, I found it rather entertaining and a clever promotion.

Catherine LePage

www.catherinelepage.com

Designer: Catherine LePage
Source: Communication Arts, Sept/Oct 2008 p168

I saw this designer's work in a magazine and was intrigued because her work is all very signature — meaning everything she's produced has her own consistent style and feel. All of her work has a hand-drawn, doodle-cartoonish look.
Her website is in keeping with her style. It feels like a scrapbook with handwritten navigation buttons and a graph paper background. Each page clearly identifies where you are in the site with a big coral dot that moves from page to page along the navigation bar. The site packs in a lot of samples in a very organized way. Small thumbnails show just enough of the image to make the viewer want to click and find that piece of the puzzle in the big picture. It's like playing "Where's Waldo?" The site subtlely doubles content on one web page by sliding in a smaller secondary navigation bar for a page 2. It's so well done, you think you've seen it on every page.
Anyone seeing this site will know this designer's forte is illustration. This designer's site fits her like a glove.