[ryansan]

I can understand where he's coming from. I've always been amazed at how carried away people can get with the their web designs and applications. Several typefaces, a ginormous color palette, skeuomorphic stuff, wizzbang doo-dads, unnecessary libraries, the list goes on.

I can appreciate a well-designed and well-built site. One that pays attention to hierarchy and how the information is presented with an eye toward performance and scalability. I always find that my favorite sites are the ones that seem to take Edgar Allen Poe's advice for writing a short story. Every component has a reason for being there (i.e., it is functional). If the component or element's purpose is to be there for the sake of simply being there (it just looks cool!), then it shouldn't exist.

I suppose that's minimalism. But oftentimes, minimalism goes against what people think of in terms of "creating an experience." Most of the time when I visit a website that creates an experience, I am left with a sour taste in my mouth.