About
2nd Generation Design Meltdown
With the launch of the second, and totally fresh, version of Design Meltdown I have charted a new path for this site. For about 5 years I have methodically cataloged sites and built a rather large base of articles and screen shots. The problem is that much of the content is dated with broken links and the structure doesn’t allow for me to easily flag old vs new links. So instead of fixing it I am just starting from scratch (though I am leaving the old version accessible).
The problem of dated and messy content is compounded by a total lack of time. I faced a cross roads; Design Meltdown either went on permanent freeze, or I change what it does. So, this new approach is two fold. One it allows me to redefine the site annually (or just keep doing the same thing). Two it lets me catalog in the same way but with out nearly as much work. The format for 2010 will be 90% linked articles and perhaps 10% original content. So you will still find a directory of styles, but the actually articles are those written by other bloggers and designers.
In the end there are just a ton of people doing the same thing and this is a great way to mix in others ideas and expand the scope of Design Meltdown.
From now on with each new year will come a new Design Meltdown. It will follow the same formula of cataloging and showcasing beautiful design, but will be structured more like a design annual. This way each year I can recalibrate and point it in any direction I need to. This also means I will have a series of sites that will serve as an archive for each year as they pass. This will free me to leave old styles with out the need to update them and will allow for the emergence of new ones as they become popular. I hope you enjoy the slightly new direction, I am excited about a fresh start.
Who is behind it all
Design Meltdown is maintained by Patrick McNeil. A graphic designer, web programmer, and all around good guy. I love art and technology and the perfect combination they are on the web. I currently freelance and am working on my second book on web design.
How it all began
I couldn’t help but consider similarly odd classifications of web sites. I slowly began collecting screenshots of sites I found particularly interesting. Shortly there after I developed numerous categories to group sites into. Design Meltdown is what evolved out of this practice.
So the goal of Design Meltdown has become to collect and categorize sites into classifications that you simply can’t search for. In addition I aim to provide additional links and resources to follow through and implement the given subject. My hope is to inspire and challenge, both myself and my readers.
