I’ve got Web Sites That Work (it was a gift, several years ago) and I’ve read it a few times. It had good stuff in it, but a lot of fluff too. It’s not one of those books that I’d buy again. If the local library has it it’s worth looking at, if that’s what you’re asking. (It seems to be out of print at this point anyway.)

I don’t know if Black’s company is still doing the design for MSNBC, but the work sure looks like Black.

Sites whose designs I like… Hmm. There’s Gardencafe.com, which reminds me of one of my classmates for some reason. Then there’s Speakeasy. I have no idea who he reminds me of. There’s not much for me to learn from Carey, because he’s one of those guys who can make a good design through instinct. When I try to do that I get in trouble. Carey’s not being too bold right now, but give him a week or two and he’ll have something new to look at that breaks some conventions. (There’s nothing wrong with the current design but it’s more traditional than his usual stuff.)

I also like Shades of Grey. Well, I like its look. For reading, it could use bigger fonts and a little more line spacing. But it’s one of those designs I could print out on a color printer and hang on my wall for decoration, which is more than I can say for this.

But as far as sites that put it all together? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one. I guess the best I’ve seen are PC Magazine and ExtremeTech (and other ZD Media sites). They won’t wow you with their designs, but I think overall they do as good of a job as anyone I’ve seen. The design is busier than it needs to be, but it scales well, and there’s community, which is important.

Part of the problem is that we’re still trying to figure out how to do this right. In the 1940s and 50s, TV studios looked like radio studios because that was all we knew. We’ve figured out the Web shouldn’t look like television and it shouldn’t look like a magazine.

Don’t really like Black’s quote:”The poor are always with us.”
— Roger says in regards to @Home subscribers using old computers.-
but I do apreciate respect for variety.

Anything more on say Websites that Work(boycott Adobe just the same)? Any sites of Black’s or otherwise you like – is MSNBC still his design?