Ribbons and bows ribbon2
ribbon3 ribbon4
5. Vintage photos
With the Instagram filters, all snapshots became art. Your mother-in-law on the terrace changed into Jackie O with 'toaster' and you yourself turned out to be a genuine hipster when you spiced up your selfie with 'nashville'. But be honest, aren't you also a bit fed up with it?
vintage_1 Jacky Kennedy Onassis vintage girl vintage justin bieber
vintage_4 vintage_5 vintage_6
6. The numbers in words
That some numbers in English are also words once seemed really cool. The company name with a wink. And what’s more, it also looked so good in a URL: beauty2bproud.nl, fun4two.nl, care4you.nl. In 2014, such Anglicistic jollity only fits in beauty salons, go-kart tracks and swingers clubs. Respectable organizations stay far away from English puns.
numbers_2 numbers_3
numbers_4 numbers_5
7. Swirls
Very decorative and yet not annoying: the swirl. Windows Vista introduced them. And they were so handy! Software suppliers, consultancy firms and financial institutions suddenly had ample opportunities to give their abstract trade a somewhat nice shape. But as is the case with trends: they go over the top and out. So also with the swirl. No longer possible. No matter how meritorious it was.
swirl_1 swirl_2
swirl_3
8. The share this button
I have never felt the need to bring a book bought at Bol, a news item from an energy company or a conference to the attention of my Twitter followers or Facebook friends. Yet I have the greatest difficulty in talking the share-this button out of the websites of clients. The only place where share-this buttons are justified are beautiful blog sites like Frankwatching. And I heartily recommend sharing articles.
sharethis_1
9. Call-to-actions
“A call-to-action on every page”, the client wants. Under or next to every estonia mobile phone number list page, such a client wants blocks with: call now! request a quote! order now! download this! do that!
As a website user, I always get nervous from shouting. Moreover, I don't think it's classy. Now I understand that website owners want those blocks, because they increase conversion. But if you do it: no shouting text, no six blocks, no exclamation marks and no animation at all! Understood?
callto_1
10. Endorsements
The internet phenomenon that surprised me the most in 2013 was the LinkedIn endorsement. Suddenly our skills were endorsed from unexpected quarters. A boy you met years ago at a New Year's party suddenly endorsed your Lotus Notes skills. Your niece endorsed your management skills. And all this while you can't remember talking about your love for outdated email software at that party or that you ever organized a family reunion.
I have added the skill 'bonsai cuttings' to my own profile. Not that I have ever touched such a tree, but I do have three endorsements.
endorsements_1
Help us!
Let’s make the internet beautiful. Let’s help users. Let’s talk bad ideas out of customers’ heads. Let’s leave the beaten path. Let’s seek out the fresh and the new.