It’s coincidental the layout of this site, in many places, resembles Microsoft’s Modern. I started presenting photographs in square format in 2008, and it spread across the site. I became aware of the precursor to Modern when I saw Windows Phone 7, I think in 2011. Although I started using square format well before I encountered Modern, I am very aware of Modern, and undoubtedly there’s been some influence.
The design of arts & ego has evolved over the twenty years since I started its precursor sites. It’s gone from frankly awful to really rather good. Mind you, I always thought it was really rather good, which actually means I’ve not got the taste to judge it properly. To be fair to myself, technology has changed dramatically: when I started building websites, screen sizes were tiny, CRT monitors made colour unreliable, sites could only host a few photos, and everything was extraordinarily slow. All the same, arts & ego, like every site, needs an informed outsider’s critical perspective. And there’s the difficult: I know web site designers, I know no web site artists.
In theory, I could at least check arts & ego against similar sites and make a comparison myself. Unfortunately, I know of no similar websites. Google et ses amis, when searching for personal websites, used to return ads but not results. They now return professors’ sites, with the occasional professional thrown in. Most sites I do discover are designed for things nothing to do with my site’s purpose. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to be learnt, far from it, but it does mean I learn general principles, not specifics. So I’ve read a book or two. That’s why this site is responsive. I’ve also ignored some bookish advice; for example, I’ve not presumed visitors have the artistic taste of toddlers.
I find most websites are more of the same. The better ones are refined more of the same. None seem to question assumptions I believe wrong. There must be an avant garde somewhere, but I’m not found it. IMHO, a good directory of innovative websites is sorely needed. I regret the demise of DMOZ. Update: I’ve found the indieweb.