Best of CSS Design 2008

Best of CSS Design 2008
Last December, I posted a list of the best designs in 2007. Now, it is time for — Best of CSS Design 2008 (a new list of 50 websites hand-picked from Best Web Gallery). This year, more designers are using the large background technique and utilizing Javascript frameworks (such as jQuery and MooTools) to enchance the user experience. I also came across a few designs that mixed Flash with CSS; perhaps a new trend we should look for in 2009?

Let It Bleed
Big bold visual images make this website stand out from the crowd.



Vermont Coffee Works
Good use of Flash mixed with CSS.



Digital Mash


Good
Good visual and content-focused design.



Wilson Miner


DrupalCon, DC


Future of Web Apps - Miami 2009
An excellent mixture of big font and grungy effects.



Housing Works
Nice use of large background on the homepage. Large background web design is very hot lately.



Future of Web Design - NYC 2008
Another nice example of large background design.



Tennessee - Fall
I have to admit, Tennessee’s sites are one of the best series — Fall, Spring, Summer, and Winter.



Tennessee - Spring


Tennessee - Summer


Tennessee - Winter


Five Runs


Branded07


Cappuccino
A very origanized site with great usability.



LightCMS
LightCMS incorporated some pencil/sketchy effects, yet maintained its corporate feel.



The First Twenty
Nicely designed one-page site.



YouLove.Us
Great implementation of CSS and Javascript (jQuery).



Luke Larsen
The aquarium themed portfolio of Luke Larsen demonstrates great use of jQuery’s Scrollto plugin.



Design Disease
Wavy and rounded shapes make this site look fun and interesting.



Adaptd
Although the design style reminds me of ISO50 (Scott Hansen), but it is worth to mention.



Jason Santa Maria


Electricurrent
Notice how Electricurrent used the background image technique to display the portfolio images?



Training by Collective Idea


MacAllan Ridge
Good visual design, easy navigation — two thumbs up.



Pikaboo
A cool design that combined CSS, Javascript, and Flash technology.



Mochi Ads


Volll


Fling Media


eWedding


Viget
Viget did a great job on branding their image by maintaining the consistency throughout their series of blogs — Inspire, Advance, Engage, and Extend.



Viget - Inspire


Viget - Advance


Viget - Engage


Viget - Extend


August
An awesome design that used Flash scalable image as the background (resize your browser to see the scalable background).



Car Freaks
This blog frequently change their homepage background photo to provide refreshing feel.



Go To China
Here is a perfect example that uses high resolution photos for website’s background. Notice the background image is scalable based on your browser size (done by Javascript CSS).



Jesus Christ


Billy Hughes


Free People
FreePeople is my all time favorite design (love the collage style).



Mouse to Minx
Retro and sexy.



Dara’s Garden


Design Sponge
The scrapbook design style is a perfect match for the site’s content.



Ma.tt


The Lippincott


Hot Meteor
Love the hot retro font!



Fortyseven Media


The Old State
It is rare to find such a beautiful black and white theme.



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