Unmatched Style, which is one of the better CSS galleries out there, has posted its first video podcast discussing several notable websites featured in their showcase within 10 minutes. You can watch the episode below:
Unmatchedstyle.com Video Podcast #1 from Gene Crawford on Vimeo.
Let’s see what is happening here. The video podcast is a good solution to explaining why a certain website made it into the UMS gallery. Gene and Jay discuss what they like—and don’t like—about it as the site is being displayed, which seems more convenient than having to visit the site and then switch over to an article pointing out the nice design bits here and there.
I say seems because of course, actually visiting and interacting with the site trumps watching videos and viewing thumbnails any day.
Still, I think it’s a solid way to innovate and add value in this already saturated market of CSS galleries. This is almost the opposite of going niche, because what UMS has been doing is being more than just a trend-imitating, money-making gallery but a definitive resource. Something that isn’t just a CSS gallery anymore.
I think we need both, any, and all sources of inspiration, though. CSS galleries are usually just a collection of screencaps that become attractive depending on their content, but we need as much inspiration as we can get our hands on. Sometimes we’re looking for that specific site type; that’s where niche galleries come in. And then we need opinions from other people to help point out what we may have missed.
I’m looking forward to another ten minutes of UMS’s next video podcast, and curious as to how else one can improve the quality of these “inspirational” sites.
Originally posted on December 10, 2008 @ 1:43 am