I’m a print designer by training, but in this dot-com world I am learning to apply those picas to pixels and beef up my web design skills. As I sit at the proverbial feet of those web designers who have masterfully gone before me, I glean from their strengths and insights. There is always so much to learn and it’s encouraging to see those in the design disciplines who are ardently passionate about their professions.
I have a handful of websites I faithfully visit to absorb some of that passion and hopefully learn a technique or two that will better shape me as a burgeoning web designer. One of my growing favorites in both content and design is Khoi Vinh’s Subtraction.com.
When you visit Khoi’s site you might be tempted to think in terms of simple and boring; I urge you to refrain from thinking in such narrow terms. Subtraction is true to its name; it is a site that strips away the fluff that is often found on the web (both in design and content) and allows the visitor to look at a little slice of authenticity in design, photography, and life through the figurative (and literal) lens of Khoi Vinh.
The content Vinh has on his site—ranging from photography to cultural trends to his personal life—is supported by a subtle, yet strong design that allows for easy readability and intuitive navigation. Everything is broken out into logical categories that display in a clean and easy-to-follow results list.
I’ll be honest; I’m a glutton for black and white; I think I’m a product of Bauhaus design 50 years too late. Even with my pre-existing monochromatic bias, I have to appreciate the great care Vinh takes in crafting a site that is easy to navigate and interact with using only what is necessary. You will not find gratuitious Apple-inspired reflections or buttons that are the result of someone who went chrome-happy.
What you will find at Khoi Vinh’s Subtraction is a true example of Gestalt where content and design beautifully blend together to create something that is bigger than either on their own, showing novice web designers like myself (and maybe even a few that have been around the block a time or two) how a little can go a long way.