2024 has been a great year for type design. Over the past few years geometric sans have been less apparent, with cursive and serifs having something of a renaissance; that trend continued this year. There’s been a very clear fashion for French design. Experimental fonts are more usable than ever. Here — in no particular […]
Big brands are increasingly ditching serif fonts in their logos, opting for sleek sans-serif designs to stay modern, improve digital readability, and appeal to younger, tech-savvy audiences.
Sandisk Corporation—synonymous with flash drives, memory cards, and digital storage—has redefined its visual identity with a bold, minimalist new logo. The inspiration? A single pixel.
“It all started with the pixel, which is the fundamental smallest unit of data,” explains Andre Filip, CEO of ELA Advertising, the agency behind the redesign.
Sandisk worked on the new look ahead of its highly anticipated spin-off from parent company Western Digital planned for next year.
The updated design is sleek, futuristic, and packed with symbolism. Sandisk’s recognizable open ‘D’ remains, but the standout feature is the revamped ‘S’: a pared-down form shaped into a cone and a square pixel.
“It’s the first letter; it’s like the cornerstone of the company,” says Joel Davis, Sandisk’s Vice President of Creative. If the pixel seems NASA-inspired, it’s no accident. “We actually asked ourselves, ‘What would this look like on a spaceship?’” Davis reveals.
Sandisk now boasts two versions of its logo—vertical and horizontal—ensuring flexibility across digital and physical branding.
Founded as SunDisk in 1988 and renamed in 1995, Sandisk has seen decades of technological evolution. Western Digital acquired the company in 2016 for a staggering $15.59 billion, but as part of an upcoming business split, Sandisk’s flash storage division will emerge as its own entity.
The logo redesign marks a pivotal moment in Sandisk’s story.
Sandisk’s rebrand shows that even practical, hardware-focused companies can embrace storytelling and emotional impact. This isn’t just about storage devices; it’s about empowering progress for creators, businesses, and individuals.
For designers, the lesson is clear: a logo is just one part of a larger narrative. Sandisk’s redesign proves that minimalism can still feel dynamic and alive, while delivering a scalable, timeless identity that sets a new benchmark for tech brands.
For the team behind the new design, this wasn’t just another update—it was a statement. “The brand has been around since the late ’80s,” Davis says, “and while it’s a great logo, we really had this one opportunity to bring the company into the future.”
And the future, it seems, begins with a single pixel.
Every year, the UX Collective dives deep into what’s shaping the design world, and their 2025 State of UX report is out.
Spoiler alert: it’s a mix of exciting tech breakthroughs and some hard truths about where our industry is headed. If you’re wondering how AI, design tools, and shifting priorities are changing the game, here’s what you need to know.
Design is no longer just about sketching out wireframes or crafting pixel-perfect mockups. A massive shift is happening: control is moving from designers to algorithms, automated tools, and, yes, business stakeholders.
Tools like Figma and Canva are doing more than just speeding things up—they’re changing how we define “designing.”
As AI-powered tools get smarter, they’re taking over tasks like creating layouts or optimizing experiences. While this frees us up for more creative work, it also begs the question: are we okay with giving up some of the artistry in favor of efficiency?
Let’s talk about something uncomfortable: UX is becoming less about the “user” and more about hitting business KPIs. Growth teams are using design systems to focus on maximizing engagement—clicks, sign-ups, conversions. Sounds great on paper, right? But at what cost?
The report warns that this metric-driven approach risks turning UX into a numbers game, where clarity and user satisfaction take a backseat. Ever felt frustrated by an endless pop-up or confusing navigation? Yep, that’s what happens when growth trumps good design.
AI is everywhere, and it’s rewriting the rules of UX. Personalization is becoming hyper-specific, automated A/B tests are a breeze, and data-driven decisions are ruling the roost. But here’s the flip side: the more we rely on AI, the less room there is for human intuition and empathy.
The report urges us to keep a balance. Sure, let AI handle the grunt work, but let’s not forget the importance of crafting designs that feel genuinely human. Machines might know what works, but they don’t understand why it works—or how it makes someone feel.
So, where does all of this leave us as designers? The report encourages us to adapt—and fast. Want to stay ahead? Think beyond the pixels. Lean into strategy, leadership, user psychology, and accessibility.
There’s also a big push to double down on creativity. While AI might be able to generate layouts, it can’t replace the depth of storytelling or the finesse of thoughtful design. This is where we can shine.
The 2025 UX landscape is challenging us to redefine what it means to be a designer. Whether it’s embracing new tools, fighting for user-centric principles, or stepping into leadership roles, there’s plenty of opportunity to grow.
The big takeaway? Designers still matter—maybe now more than ever. But we have to evolve, stay curious, and never lose sight of what makes our work impactful: designing for people, not just metrics.
What makes an incredible project? Is it the client? The type of project? An exorbitant budget? While those things help to create the environment in which a great project can thrive, what truly makes a project something powerful is you.
No, this isn’t some pep talk on why you are the ultimate weapon — but yes, you are if you want to be. I am simply a web and product designer writing down my observations in order to give others the tools to make their project experiences all the better for it.
Still with me? Let me tell you about what I’ve discovered over the years working as an agency designer.
There are three approaches that have completely changed the way my projects run from start to finish. I have found that since implementing all three, my work and my interactions with clients and coworkers have blossomed. Here they are:
In this article, you will find explanations of each approach and connected practical examples — as well as real-life ones from my project work at Fueled + 10up — to show you how they can be applied to projects. With that said, let’s dive in.
Approach 1: Unlearn Previous Experiences Through Reframing
While some of the things that we have learned over the years spent in design are invaluable, amidst those previous experiences, there are also the ones that hold us back.
Unlearning ingrained lessons is not an easy thing to do. Rather, I challenge you to reframe them and get into the habit of asking yourself, “Am I stopping short creatively because I have always gone this far?” or “Am I associating an implied response from others due to a previous experience and therefore not doing enough for the project?”
Let me give you some examples of thoughts that may arise on a given project and how you can reframe them in a better way.
“I’ve designed cards thousands of times. Therefore, there are only so many ways you can do it.”
As you know, in 99.9% of website design projects, a card design is required. It may seem that every possible design ever imagined has been created up to this point — a fair reasoning, isn’t it? However, stifling yourself from the very get-go with this mentality will only serve to produce expected and too-well-known results.
Instead, you could approach this scenario with the following reframed thought:
“I’ve designed cards thousands of times, so let me take what I’ve learned, do some more exploration, and iterate on what could push these cards further for this particular project.”
With this new outlook, you may find yourself digging deeper to pull on creative threads, inevitably resulting in adaptive thinking. A good exercise to promote this is the Crazy 8’s design exercise. In this format, you can pull forth rapid ideas — some good, some not so good — and see what sticks. This method is meant to get your brain working through a simple solution by tackling it from multiple angles.
Here is a real-life example from one of my projects in which I had to explore cards on a deeper level. This client’s website was primarily made up of cards of varying content and complexity. In the initial stages of design, I worked to define how we could differentiate cards, with prominence in size, imagery, and color, as well as motion and hover effects.
What I landed on was a flexible system that had three tiers and harmonized well together. Knowing they had content that they wanted to be highlighted in a distinctive way, I created a Featured Card and tied it to the brand identity with the cutout shape in the image masking. I also included the glass effect on top to allude to the brand’s science background and ensure the text was accessible. For the Stacked Card, I introduced a unique hover effect pattern: depending on where the card was in a given grid, it would determine the card’s hover color. Lastly, for the Horizontal Card, I wanted to create something that had equal emphasis on the image and content and that could also stand alone well, even without an image.
While these cards include what most cards usually do, the approach I took and the visual language used was unique to the client. Instead of working on these too quickly, I ventured down a different path that took a little more thought, which led me to a result that felt in tune with the client’s needs. It also pushed me outside of what I knew to be the standard, straightforward approach.
“Fast is better. Clients and project teams want me to be fast, so it’s okay if I cut down on exploration.”
In most projects, speed is indeed rewarded. It keeps the project within its budget constraints, the project managers are happy, and ultimately, the clients are happy, too. However, what it can end up doing instead is generating errors in the process and hindering design exploration.
In this scenario, you can reframe this like so:
“I like to work fast because I want the team to be successful. In addition, I want to make sure I have not only produced high-quality work but also explored whether this is the best and most creative solution for the project.”
With this new outlook, you are still looking out for what clients and project teams want (successful outcomes), but you have also enriched the experience by fully executing your design expertise rather than just churning out work.
One recommendation here is to always ensure you are communicating with your project team about the budget and timelines. Keeping yourself aware of these key goals will allow you to pace when to push for more exploration and when to dial it in.
I experienced this on a project of mine when a client’s piece of feedback seemed clear-cut, but as we entered a third round of design surrounding it, it revealed that it was much more complicated.
The client, Cleveland Public Library, had approved a set of wireframes for their homepage that illustrated a very content-heavy hero, but when it came to the design phase, they were delighted by a simpler, more bold design for a block that I created in my preliminary design explorations. At first, I thought it was obvious: let’s just give them a dialed-in, simple hero design and be done with it. I knew the hours were precious on this project, and I wanted to save time for later on as we got into the finer design details of the pages. However, this was an error on my part.
After taking a step back and removing speed as a key factor during this phase of the project, I found the solution they actually needed: a content-heavy hero showcasing the breadth of their offerings, melded with the boldness of the more pared-down design. And guess what? This variant was approved instantly!
Now that I have shown you two examples of how to unlearn previous experiences, I hope you can see the value of reframing those moments in order to tap into a more uninhibited and unexplored creative path. Of course, you should expect that it will take several implementations to start feeling the shift towards inherent thinking — even I need to remind myself to pause and reframe, like in the last example. Rome wasn’t built in a day, as they say!
I challenge you to identify a few moments on a recent project where you could have paused, reflected, and used more creativity. What would you have done differently?
Approach 2: Tap Into Your Background With Connection Paths
I know I just talked about unlearning some of our previous experiences to unlock creativity, but what about the ones we may want to tap into to push us even further? Every designer has an array of passions, memories, and experiences that have culminated into what makes us who we are today. We often have a work self — professional and poised, and a personal self — exploding with hobbies. How can we take those unique facets of our personalities and apply them to our projects?
Creating connections with projects and clients on a deeper level is a major way to make use of our personal experiences and knowledge. It can help to add inspiration where you otherwise may not have found that same spark on a project or subject matter.
Let me walk you through what I like to call the Three Connection Paths. I’ll also show you how you can pull from these and apply them to your projects.
This connection path is one in which you have overlapping interests with the client or subject matter.
An example of this is a client from the video game industry, and you play their video games. Seems like an obvious connection! You can bring in your knowledge and love for the game industry and their work. You could propose easter eggs and tie-ins to their games on their website. It’s a match made in heaven.
This connection path is one in which you cross at a singular point with the client or subject matter.
An example of this is a client, which is a major restaurant chain, and you used to work in the food industry. With your background, you understand what it is like to work at a restaurant, so you might suggest what CTA’s or fun graphics would be important for a staff-centric site.
This connection path is one in which you are tethered to the client or subject matter through who you know.
An example of this is a client in the engineering field, and one of your family members is an engineer. You can then ask your family members for insights or what would be a good user experience for them on a redesigned website.
Sometimes, you won’t be so lucky as to align with a client in one of the Three Connection Paths, but you can still find ways to add a layered experience through other means, such as your skillset and research. In the last example, say you know nothing about engineering nor have a connection to someone who does, but you are an excellent copy editor outside of work. You can propose tweaking the verbiage on their hero section to emphasize their goals all the more. This shows care and thoughtfulness, giving the client an experience they are sure to appreciate.
A real-life example in which I implemented a Direct Connection Path on a project was for Comics Kingdom’s website redesign. When I was younger, I wanted to be a manga creator, so this client being an intermediary between comic readers and creators resonated with me. Not only that, but I still practice illustration, so I knew I had to bring this skill set to the table, even though it was not part of the original scope of work.
I allowed myself to lean into that spark I felt. I hand-sketched a few illustrations in Procreate for their website that felt personal and tied to the joy that comics evoke. Beyond that, I found a way to incorporate my knowledge of manga into a background pattern that pulled inspiration from nawa-ami (a traditional cross-hatching style to denote deep thought) and mixed it with the motif of fingerprints — the idea of identity and the artist’s own mark on their work.
Due to my deep passion, I was able to cultivate an excellent collaborative relationship with the client, which led to a very successful launch and being invited to speak on their podcast. This experience solidified my belief that through tapping into Connection Paths, you can forge not only amazing projects but also partnerships.
Look at what projects you currently have and see which of the Three Connection Paths you could use to build that bond with the client or the subject matter. If you don’t see one of the Three Connection Paths aligning, then what skills or research could you bring to the table instead?
Approach 3: Take Up Your Own Space
The last — and arguably most important — approach to leveling up your projects is taking up your own space. I’m not referring to physical space like strong-arming those around you. What I’m referring to is the space in which designers take to be vocal about their design decisions.
A lot of designers find this practice uncomfortable. Whether it stems from having not been given that space to practice as a beginner designer, higher ranking designers not leaving the room for those less vocal, or even you yourself feeling like someone else might be better suited to talk to a particular point.
Similarly, some designers find themselves retreating when receiving feedback. Instead of standing behind the reasoning of their designs or asking follow-up questions, it seems easier to simply go along with the requested change in order to make the client or team member providing the feedback happy. Even if you disagree with the request, does it feel like you need to execute it just because the client — or someone you feel outranks you — told you to?
There is another option, one in which you can mark yourself as the design expert you are and get comfortable in the discomfort.
Saying you don’t agree and explaining why helps solidify you as a strong decision-maker and confident designer. Tying it back to why you made the decision in the first place is key.
Illuminating your opinions and reasoning in conversations is what will get those around you to trust in your decisions. Hiding them away or conceding to client whims isn’t going to show those around you that you have the knowledge to make the proper recommendations for a project.
Now, I’m not saying that you will need to always disagree with the provided feedback to show that you have a backbone. Far from it. I think there is a time and place for when you need to lean into your expertise, and a time and place for when you need to find a middle ground and/or collaborate. Collaborating with coworkers and clients lets them peek into the “why” behind the design decisions being made.
A great example of this is a client questioning you on a particular font size, saying it feels too large and out of place.
You have two options:
If you have been paying attention thus far, you’d know that option 2. is the route I would suggest. So, instead of just changing the font size, you should ask for specifics. For example, is the type hierarchy feeling off — the relationship of that heading to the body font it is paired with? You can ask if the size feels large in other instances since perhaps this is your H2 font, so it would need to be changed across the board. Calling attention to why you chose this size using data-informed UX design, accessibility, brand, or storytelling reasons all amplify your decision-making skills before the client, so including that information here helps.
If, after the discussion, the client still wants to go with changing the font size, at least you have given your reasoning and shown that you didn’t thoughtlessly make a decision — you made the design choice after taking into consideration multiple factors and putting in a lot of thought. Over time, this will build trust in you as the design expert on projects.
An example in which I showcased taking up my own space was from a recent project I worked on for Hilton Stories in their collaboration with Wicked. After conceptualizing a grand takeover experience complete with a storytelling undertone, one of the clients wanted to remove the page-loading animation with the idea of having more branded elements elsewhere.
While most of my team was ready to execute this, I read between the lines and realized that we could solve the issue by including clear verbiage of the collaboration on the loading animation as well as adding logos and a video spot to the interior pages. By sticking up for a key piece of my designs, I was able to show that I was aligned with not only my design decisions but the major goals of the project. This solution made the clients happy and allowed for a successful launch with the loading animation that the Fueled + 10up team and I worked so hard on.
The next time you receive feedback, pause for a moment. Take in carefully what is being said and ask questions before responding. Analyze if it makes sense to go against the design decisions you made. If it doesn’t, tell the client why. Have that open dialogue and see where you land. This will be uncomfortable at first, but over time, it will get easier.
Remember, you made your decisions for a reason. Now is the time to back up your design work and ultimately back up yourself and your decisions. So, take up your own space unapologetically.
Conclusion
Now that you have learned all about the three approaches, there is nothing stopping you from trialing these on your next project. From unlearning previous experiences through Reframing to tapping into your background with Connection Paths, you can lay the groundwork for how your past can be used to shape your future interactions. When taking up your own space, start small as you begin to advocate for your designs, and always try to connect to the “whys” so you instill trust in your clients and members of your design team.
As Robin Williams so eloquently delivered in the Dead Poets Society, “No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.” In this case, you don’t need to apply it so widely as the entire world, maybe just to your workplace for now.
And just like that, we are closing in on the end of 2024. The trends keep on coming, though, as we round out the year. From holiday feels to cool scroll effects to more stark aesthetics, there’s still plenty to work with as you finish projects this month.
Here’s what’s trending in design this month:
There’s nothing like festive holiday themes to help you feel happy and spirited in the final part of the year. The same applies to website design.
Fun themes are becoming more common, with sites swapping their looks for the biggest sales season of the year to sites that pop up just for the holiday season. What’s great about these designs is that there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. Every site can do something different to highlight a festive mood.
Each of these examples takes a different approach to the holiday and shows that even sites that aren’t dedicated to e-commerce can participate in some seasonal fun.
Santa Tote goes all in with a holiday-themed site. Rather than add seasonal elements to their primary website, Tote created a secondary holiday site. The gamified and artistic theme is fun and makes you want to click around and interact. The whimsical illustrations are an added bonus.
Holiday Spheres is another gamified holiday site example, where you can build an animated snow globe digitally. Get your digital gift just right, and then send it to someone to spread a little holiday cheer!
Finally, the Macy’s website design is what you would expect from a retailer for the holiday season. The site uses an elegant red and gold textured theme with plenty of sales and deals highlighted. While it screams holiday, the theme is also in line with the brand.
One thing to keep in mind with these holiday concepts is that you can take the ideas used for the holidays and apply them to other seasonal designs or even use them in daily practice. The interactions, animations, and ways to entice users aren’t any different than what you might normally do, there’s just a Santa or two included.
A fun or interesting scroll can take a boring design to the next level. It can also add a lot of interest to something that might seem overly simple, driving conversions or engagements.
But there’s a trick to using some of these interesting scroll interactions as a design trend – they must have purpose. What does the scroll help the user do or understand? If you can answer that question, you are well on your way to creating a purposeful and interesting interaction that will make users want to stay on your website.
Lcycic mixes interesting shapes, background video, and scrolls to keep the design interesting. The best part of this scroll is that there’s nothing fancy, just a collection of “pages” that work together easily with varying content types to tell a solid story.
Gentlerain takes a wholly different approach with plenty of animation and effects, with an equally appealing result. From the liquid effect on the homepage to great scrolling slides, everything is designed to keep you moving through and reading all of the content. There are also some nifty hover effects, too.
The design for Bike Portugal falls somewhere in between. The hero area seems pretty simple but the images across the screen include photos and video and change shape and size with the interaction. The waterfall effect of the shapes is interesting and engaging as well.
Every time black and white themes gain popularity, a designer smiles somewhere. This is one of those things that never really falls out of fashion and designers, in particular, love when clients allow them to have fun with these mono color schemes.
Each of these examples uses some sort of “trick” element with black and white to add as much interest as possible.
Onto uses a white background with black text and a video reel. While it is primarily black and white, the video incorporates splashes of color when you seem to least expect it.
Good & Common sticks with a start and brutalist feeling design with white, and bold, letters on a black background. This design is created specifically to make you read. The stark nature really gives users little else to do. Even the one image on the homepage is without color.
Shane Collier Design also uses a stark white on black concept, but uses language – and misspelled and unexpected – word choices to catch and keep attention. After you see the first few words, you are driven to learn more. Why are the words “wrong?” What is this design trying to tell you? Once you get a way into the scroll and these questions are answered, the design opens up into a little more color with some portfolio items.
While you can’t use these holiday trends per se all year long, there are takeaways that work regardless of the content. Consider ways to incorporate interesting site-wide or landing page-only themes so that users feel something special when they get to your website. Celebrate customers, other occasions, or just a big sale to make this most of this trending website design concept.
Ah, the mid-2000s. A simpler time on the internet. MySpace was still ruling the social media scene, YouTube was a baby, and smartphones were more “dumbphone.”
Back then, the internet wasn’t just a place for memes and influencers—it was a digital Wild West, where quirky experiments could go viral and make someone wildly successful.
Enter The Million Dollar Homepage, a hilariously brilliant idea that proved even a college kid with a big dream and a knack for pixels could make internet history.
If you’re scratching your head thinking, “What’s this Million Dollar Homepage thing?” let me take you on a nostalgic journey to one of the quirkiest success stories the web has ever seen.
In 2005, Alex Tew, a 21-year-old student from England, was staring down the barrel of crushing student debt. Most of us would settle for part-time jobs or ramen noodles, but Alex decided to aim a little higher. He cooked up a plan so bizarre, so audacious, it was either going to crash and burn or make him a millionaire.
His idea? Sell a million pixels of online space on a single webpage for $1 each. Buyers would get to own a little piece of internet real estate, filling it with whatever image or ad they wanted.
The webpage, aptly named The Million Dollar Homepage, would look like a chaotic digital quilt of logos, graphics, and randomness. And people could click on the pixels to be whisked away to whatever site the buyer linked. It was like buying a square on a community patchwork but with a very internet twist.
Alex launched the site in August 2005 with a simple pitch: “Own a piece of internet history.” At the time, history was going for about the price of a latte.
At first, things were slow. Alex convinced friends and family to buy the first pixels, which netted him a modest $1,000. Then, as word spread, blogs, forums, and media outlets picked up the story, and The Million Dollar Homepage took off like a rocket. It became a viral sensation before we even had the term “viral sensation.”
Within weeks, businesses and individuals from all corners of the internet wanted a slice of the action. Everyone from online casinos to poker sites and even random joke businesses (looking at you, nose-picking website) jumped on board. It was chaotic, weird, and pure mid-2000s internet magic.
Let’s be real—some of the pixel ads were… questionable. There were glittery logos, random clip art, and some images that looked like they’d been made with MS Paint in five minutes. But that was part of the charm. The grid was a hot mess, and people loved it.
By January 2006, Alex had sold 999,000 pixels and raked in $999,000. The last 1,000 pixels went on eBay, fetching a cool $38,100. Grand total? $1,037,100. Not too shabby for a few pixels, huh?
Of course, fame isn’t all pixel-perfect. Once The Million Dollar Homepage became a global sensation, Alex faced some headaches. Hackers came knocking, launching a DDoS attack in early 2006. They demanded a ransom, threatening to take the site offline. (Internet gangsters, right?) Alex stood his ground, and with the help of security experts, the site survived.
Meanwhile, critics chimed in with all kinds of opinions. Some called the project a genius work of art, others thought it was a goofy cash grab. The commercial chaos of the grid rubbed some people the wrong way, but for Alex, the goal was simple: pay for college and maybe buy himself a fancy dinner. Mission accomplished.
The Million Dollar Homepage wasn’t just a quirky business idea—it was a snapshot of what the internet used to be. If you visit the site today (and yes, it’s still live), you’ll see the same patchwork of ads, logos, and randomness.
Some links are broken now, leading to defunct websites or long-forgotten businesses, but the digital chaos remains intact.
Back in 2005, the internet wasn’t dominated by sleek algorithms or polished content. It was a playground for weird ideas, messy experiments, and, yes, a lot of glitter text. The Million Dollar Homepage captures that era perfectly. It’s a chaotic, lovable museum of mid-2000s online culture.
Think about it: today, ad space is sold in milliseconds by supercomputers, targeted with creepy precision. Back then, people were just buying random blocks of pixels and crossing their fingers. Kind of refreshing, right?
You’d think after making over a million dollars, Alex would have just kicked back and retired at 21. Nope. Instead, he used his entrepreneurial chops to start new projects. His biggest hit since The Million Dollar Homepage? Calm, the meditation and sleep app that’s helped millions of people chill out. Ironically, the guy who created one of the loudest, busiest web pages went on to create an app for peace and quiet. Talk about range.
As for The Million Dollar Homepage, it’s become a piece of internet lore. People still visit it, marveling at its chaotic charm and reminiscing about the early days of the web. For Alex, it’s a testament to the power of a simple idea executed at the right time.
The Million Dollar Homepage wasn’t just a quirky success—it was packed with lessons about creativity and the power of the internet. Here are a few takeaways:
Looking back, The Million Dollar Homepage feels like the perfect symbol of its time. It was chaotic, creative, and undeniably fun. For those of us who remember its rise, it’s a reminder of a younger, quirkier internet—an internet where a college student could dream up something outrageous, throw it online, and make a million bucks.
And for those who missed it? Well, the site’s still there, waiting for you to take a peek. It’s a blast from the past, a digital time capsule, and a reminder that even in today’s polished online world, there’s still room for crazy ideas.
So here’s to The Million Dollar Homepage: the internet’s wildest, wackiest, and most pixelated success story.
Long live the pixels!
In a world where even government websites are undergoing sleek makeovers, Craigslist remains a stubborn relic of the early 2000s internet.
With its stark blue links, minimal design, and zero-nonsense functionality, it’s a website that hasn’t seen any significant updates in over two decades. For some, it’s an endearing throwback to a simpler digital age. For others, it’s a frustrating example of how a platform can refuse to evolve.
So, the question looms: Will Craigslist ever get a redesign?
It’s hard to ignore how drastically the digital landscape has shifted since Craigslist’s inception in 1995. Today’s internet users expect visually appealing interfaces, intuitive navigation, and mobile-friendly designs. Craigslist checks none of those boxes.
Competitors like Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, and even niche platforms such as Zillow and TaskRabbit have eaten away at Craigslist’s dominance.
These platforms offer cleaner interfaces, advanced filtering options, and a more polished user experience. Yet, Craigslist trudges along with its bare-bones approach.
A redesign could make Craigslist more accessible, attract a younger demographic, and modernize its business model. Imagine a Craigslist with a responsive design, better search functionality, or—dare we say it—a recommendation algorithm. The possibilities are endless.
For Craigslist loyalists, the site’s minimalism is its charm. Its no-frills design means fewer distractions and faster loading times. Unlike its competitors, Craigslist doesn’t bombard you with ads or attempt to manipulate your behavior through algorithms. It’s a place where simplicity reigns supreme.
Then there’s the ethos of its founder, Craig Newmark, who has been vocal about his preference for keeping things simple and user-driven. Craigslist’s grassroots, egalitarian vibe might be at risk if it were to adopt a sleeker, more corporate look.
Moreover, Craigslist is still profitable, reportedly earning millions annually through paid listings for jobs, apartments, and other services. If it isn’t broken, why fix it?
The debate over whether Craigslist should evolve is more than just a design question—it’s a cultural one. Some argue that Craigslist represents the last bastion of the pre-commercialized internet, a digital flea market where the power dynamics are relatively even. Changing its design could dilute that authenticity.
On the flip side, its refusal to adapt feels increasingly out of step with the times. Critics argue that its outdated interface makes it harder to spot scams and facilitates illegal activity, from fake rental listings to shady services.
A redesign could include better verification tools, improved user security, and more robust reporting features—changes that would benefit everyone.
The chances of Craigslist undergoing a significant redesign are slim. Its founder and leadership have shown little interest in keeping up with trends, focusing instead on maintaining its core functionality.
Unless its market share dwindles dramatically or a competitor emerges that completely eclipses it, Craigslist seems content to remain a stubborn dinosaur.
But maybe that’s the point. In an era of constant change, perhaps the most radical thing a website can do is stay the same.
Whether you see Craigslist as a nostalgic icon or an outdated relic, its design—or lack thereof—remains one of the internet’s most fascinating conversations.
What do you think? Should Craigslist embrace a redesign, or should it continue to defy modern web design norms?
Every year, the App Store team takes on the exciting challenge of picking the most exceptional apps and games to celebrate with their App Store Awards.
This year, Apple has recognized 17 incredible apps and games that made a big impact from a list of 45 finalists. From innovative tools that help creators and learners to games that bring pure fun, these winners showcase what’s possible when creativity and technology come together.
Whether you’re looking for your next favorite app or just curious about what’s trending in the world of digital experiences, here’s a breakdown of 2024’s App Store Award winners, handpicked by Apple’s editors.
The 2024 winners represent a wide range of experiences, from empowering creativity and productivity to delivering fun and relaxation. Here are just a few standouts:
Gaming also had its moment in the spotlight. Here are the games that captured hearts (and lots of screen time):
This year, Apple introduced a brand-new category for Apple Vision Pro apps and games, celebrating the future of spatial computing. The winners showed off the potential of this groundbreaking technology:
In addition to celebrating the best in design and functionality, Apple also recognized apps that made a meaningful cultural impact. These winners tackled real-world challenges, inspired curiosity, and brought people together:
The App Store Awards are more than just a celebration of great apps—they’re a reflection of how technology shapes our lives, communities, and even culture.
From solo developers to massive teams, these creators remind us how powerful and creative the digital world can be.
So, if you’re looking for something new to inspire, entertain, or connect you with others, these apps and games are a great place to start. Happy exploring!
The desktop computer is the underdog of the tech world—a bulky box that screams “1999” while the rest of us flex our slim laptops and shiny new tablets in coffee shops.
But here’s the hot take you didn’t know you needed: the humble desktop isn’t just relevant—it’s superior.
Forget the trendy gadgets. If you care about performance, value, and not being a sucker for marketing hype, it’s time to give the desktop its due.
Let’s start with laptops—the crown jewel of the mobile workforce. People pay $2,000 for a MacBook Pro only to use it for email, Netflix, and TikTok. Meanwhile, a $1,000 custom desktop will annihilate any laptop in sheer performance. Rendering 4K video? Gaming on ultra settings? Running multiple virtual machines? Laptops cry. Desktops laugh.
And don’t even get me started on “upgradability.” Your precious laptop will be obsolete in three years, max. Need more storage or better performance? Tough. Meanwhile, a desktop lets you swap in a new graphics card or add a terabyte of storage with a few clicks.
It’s the difference between buying a car you can fix versus one where you’re stuck at the mercy of the dealership.
“Oh, but my iPad can do everything my desktop can!” No, it can’t. Unless “everything” means drawing cute doodles in Procreate or binge-watching Disney+. Sure, Apple’s M1 iPads are fast, but they’re about as versatile as a spoon in a toolbox. Want to connect multiple monitors? Run professional-grade software? Good luck.
Tablets are the tech equivalent of a glorified coloring book: fun, portable, and utterly useless for real productivity. And don’t forget the overpriced accessories. A keyboard and stylus that together cost more than an actual PC? Stop.
Portability is a scam. People boast about working on laptops in cafes and on airplanes, but how many of them spill a latte or drop their laptop during TSA checks? Laptops break, and when they do, you’re paying through the nose for a new one.
Desktops? Immovable. Unshakable. A fortress of stability. Spilled coffee? It’s on your desk, not your motherboard. Dropped your PC tower? How? Are you the Hulk?
Gamers, let’s talk. If you’re playing Call of Duty or Elden Ring on a laptop, you’re not gaming. You’re pretending. Desktop gaming rigs not only deliver better graphics, faster frame rates, and real surround sound—they let you mod your machine to your heart’s content.
PC enthusiasts aren’t just gamers; they’re artists. Building a water-cooled rig with RGB lighting is a flex no console or laptop can match.
And you know what’s cooler than your Razer laptop? Literally every desktop with an RTX 4090 graphics card.
Let’s be real: most people who swear by laptops, tablets, and smartphones are buying into planned obsolescence. These devices aren’t built to last—they’re designed to make you upgrade every few years.
Desktops, on the other hand, are timeless. Got a six-year-old desktop? Upgrade the RAM, swap out the GPU, and boom—it’s like new. Meanwhile, your five-year-old MacBook?
Apple would like you to spend $3,000 on the latest version, thank you very much.
When it comes to adaptability, desktops win every time. Need a second (or third) monitor? Easy. Want to build a high-performance editing rig or a quiet PC for coding? Done. Need 8 TB of storage? Good luck cramming that into your laptop.
Desktops don’t force you to compromise. They meet you where you are, whether you’re a video editor, streamer, data scientist, or someone who just wants to run The Sims 4 on ultra settings without the game crashing.
The pandemic flipped the script on how we work. If you’re still pretending you need a laptop for “working remotely,” you’re kidding yourself. The desktop is the ultimate work-from-home tool: bigger screen, better ergonomics, and more power to handle Zoom calls, spreadsheets, and heavy-duty software all at once.
“But what about mobility?” Please. How many of you actually work from a beach? You’re at home, hunched over your dining table with your laptop balanced on a stack of books. Get a desktop. Your back will thank you.
The desktop doesn’t need to be sleek or portable to prove its worth. It’s not here to impress your friends or fit in your tote bag. Desktops are workhorses, designed to get the job done without pretending to be something they’re not.
In a world obsessed with appearances—where thinness and shininess are somehow more important than durability and power—the desktop stands as a quiet rebellion. It’s not flashy, but it’s functional. And that’s exactly why it matters.
Laptops, tablets, and smartphones are convenient, sure. But when you strip away the hype, they’re just overpriced compromises. The desktop, on the other hand, is a powerhouse that doesn’t care about trends. It’s for people who value performance, flexibility, and real value over superficial aesthetics.
So, go ahead—take your laptop to the café and pretend to work. I’ll be at home with my desktop, actually getting things done.
