[jamesteow]

HN'ers can be serious buzz kills. Yeah, you can argue that it's less usable but the brand and emotion is dramatically more upbeat and fun, which is what I think the company is going for. I would be more likely to pay attention to hall the pages with this re-design than the templated startup design that was created before. This new design is easily one that will be passed around Twitter and other social media. The fact that you were able to make gift cards seem fun and attractive is a testament to his talent. Kudos to you guys.

And while I wouldn't call Mike Kus a design legend (I'd reserve that for peeps like Jonathan Ive, Dieter Rams, the HFJ duo... basically those who have a profound effect on the industry, peoples lifestyle and/or the craft) he definitely is one of the best web designers out there.

[lell]

I'm usually surprised and inspired by the optimism and constructiveness of comments on HN. I sometimes view reading HN as a salve against cynicism. What the heck is happening in these replies? Usually when HN comments are critical, they are also constructive and the criticism is well thought out. In these replies some people are denigrating the entire indie-festival-poster style that is carrying startups to stardom calling it pase or not as likely to convert. And yet this style is preferred on all the rockstar YC/startup sites. In this case the only one who knows the conversion figures is the parent. The rest of the replies are fueling their cynicism with guesses and assumptions and inexplicably turning against an aesthetic that I feel we've built. HN: What the heck?

[alanfalcon]

I had largely the same reaction as you.

My takeaway: Don't go to Designer News to read opinions about Hacking.