Kevin Zak

Recently a good friend of mine, Kyle Meyer, created a new website with a unique premise. Kyle is a user interface designer at Clockwork Active Media Systems in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is also the author of Astheria, a blog focusing on design, but specifically the usability and typography of design, which (in my opinion) happens to be his forte. This new site would focus on reviewing sites across the web that exceed in just that forte, typography and usability. He spoke of his ideas to create such a site to me previously, but it just recently became a reality.

Typesites by self-definition is thus:

Typesites is a weekly showcase of websites with interesting typographic design. What once started as an idea for yet another generic website gallery evolved into something that gives much more depth than a normal showcase. Where as galleries simply post generic designs by the bucketload we strive to showcase only design that can inspire and teach — and then explain it.

Thus far, Typesites has reviewed four sites, the latest being Kevin Cornell’s Bearskinrug. The reviews tend to focus on three areas: the good, the bad, and how the design could be improved. They are thorough, well-researched, and unlike a lot of reviews I’ve read, captivating. I find that I enjoy reading the articles as well as comparing my own opinions and sentiments to those of the author.

Each article offers readers the opportunity to leave their own opinions through a comment system. While some simply convey their thoughts on the review itself, some choose to leave a short review of the site, as well. This is an interesting concept as you can compare the opinions of both professionals and amateurs in one unified area.

While the process that Typesites’ authors use to choose the site they review is unclear, what is obvious is the amount of effort and research that goes into each choice. All four of the sites reviewed were ones that I had not previously read or even heard of, but am now an avid subscriber. They are the blogs and journals of both professional designers and witty writers, and the content of their sites is quite interesting and diverse.

In the end, Typesites offers a unique look at designs that have otherwise been overlooked. While I am still an amateur in terms of typography, I can tell you now that it is a very interesting and multifaceted field. While color theory and functionality are interesting and important, I feel that aesthetics and typography provide a basis for both of those, and offer a much more dexterous and significant role in design. I look forward to learning more about this field, and I eagerly await another review from Typesites.