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by hypertele-Xii 1542 days ago
> I see design elements that don't serve the usability of the website

Every single thing you listed has a purpose.

> the background image

is a blurry gradient of colors magenta and orange, angled off-axis. In other words, the complete opposite of the page contents: Sharp black and white precisely-aligned text.

The purpose of a background is to contrast the foreground. Mission accomplished.

> the colour of the toolbar

is one of the only persistently consistent visual elements across the entire website, which features many very different color schemes in its content. Take this page [0] for instance; as the menu elements you refer to lie on a higher level of interface hierarchy, this color of the toolbar sets the topmost brand tone of the entire website.

[0] https://hypertele.fi/d9a64d59472ad05b

> the right alignment of the text

Quoting the very page under discussion:

When your eyes read to the end of a line of text, they have to jump to the beginning of the next one. Left-justified text causes all lines to start at the same vertical, making your eyes sometimes miss the jump and begin reading a wrong line. This is why you're sometimes reading the same line twice by accident. By right-justifying instead, the left edge of the text is made variying, and your eyes have an easier time picking the correct next line.

4 comments

Sorry, I realise my comment may have sounded a bit harsh, it was not meant as a criticism of your website - just describing why I don't perceive it as minimalist design
> your eyes have an easier time picking the correct next line.

Are you saying that right-aligned text is easier to read? Are there any studies on that? If that's the case then why isn't everybody like HN for instance already right-aligning their content?

Right alignment is just less common in general, right? It requires knowing how long a line of text is before rendering the line of text, and the more complicated implementation makes it probably the least used form of justification for blocks of text. (Of course computers make right justifying free)
Not aware of any studies, but I wrote a book experimenting with different typographical structures and this was my own conclusion.
Huh. I never considered text alignment like that. Mind => Blown.
I didn't find the right alignment of text to be easier to read, but though it was a mistake on your part. Of course, now I know it was intentional. Good job though.