10 best-designed web sites in the world

My top 10

• Apple.com
• Mozilla.com
• Iconbuffet.com
• WhyWeWhisper.com
• Circografico.com.ar
• Enhancedlabs.com
• Protolize.org
• Bearskinrug.co.uk
• Corkd.com
• Sumagency.com

#1 Apple.com

Apple is the best example of striking the balance of simplicity (white space, strong type) with rich imagery sensitively-applied.

It's also a big, varied, constantly-new site with loads of content, which always feels easy & enjoyable to navigate.

For solving the numerous demands on the UI so elegantly, this is, in my opinion, the best-designed web site in the world today.

#2 Mozilla.com

Clear, open, fresh, simple. When you arrive at this site, you're under no doubt what the site does, or where to start looking for what you want. The design is positive and happy. A winner.

#3 Iconbuffet.com

The site sells icons, so it lets the icons rule, showing its wares from the first page.

The colours and typography are solid & strong, projecting a trustworthy brand while not getting in the way of the proposition.

#4 WhyWeWhisper.com

“Why We Whisper - restoring our right to say it's wrong” is a book about freedom of speech in the USA, written by Senator Jim DeMint and J. David Woodward.

The page design is a great example of pixel-saving in action, with very little complexity going into the page background (chrome), leaving room for large, clear type. I love the flourished rules between the quotes.

If I have one criticism, the page doesn't tell you up-front what it's about.. relying on prior knowledge or even reading, which may be a lot to ask.

Another very worthy simple & impacting book site is “Gangs of America.com”, book by Ted Nace.

#5 Circografico.com.ar/

The guy's an illustrator, so his site has to:

• Show his work
• Be interesting and characterful

It does both these things really well!

The graphic design is designed around Alex's work, with intelligent typography and just enough pixels used to give the site background its tattered, rich vibe.

I love the way his portfolio page uses gradients to suggest the work in a print context.

#6 EnhancedLabs.com

Another icon maker, doing bigger, richer icons, so the the site showcases them bigger & richer.

Bold, flattish colour creates a strong first impression and still lets the product stand out.

#7 Protolize.org

Tony Yoo's collection of recommended web resources is a great example of strong graphic elements balancing to make a site that's bold and easy to use.

Big text, simple nav, high usability, all wrapped in strong colour and finished off with nice graphical touches.

#8 Bearskinrug.co.uk

Another illustrator's site (Kevin Cornell). What can I say about this that I didn't say about Alex Dukal's site?

It embodies the essence of Kevin's style, and - if you look - does an excellent job of filling the space with content, needing almost no page furniture at all.

Count how many things on the page are both navigation and content. Everything has had the touch of the illustrator's brush, so the site is just saturated with his talent.

#9 Corkd.com

Dan Cederholm's personal wine review project provides a neat, cleanly-designed interface, featuring an intelligent colour scheme and fantastic simple logo.

Easy to use and fun to browse. This site strikes the balance just right.

#10 Sumagency.com

Oh so 2.0, but I just love it. You know what gets me every time? Acres of balanced white space, easy-read text and cute content graphics combining to tell a simple story. First-rate.