31Three Redesigns

If you’re a designer and you haven’t been following the work of Jesse Bennett-Chamberlain, then you’re doing yourself a disservice. The man’s got a great eye for both detail and simplicity, which means his designs remain interesting time and again without overwhelming a person with needless complexity (as evidenced by his recent redesign of the ExpressionEngine website).

So it follows that the recent redesign of his personal website, 31Three, would be no less fantastic.

I’m especially enamored with the new look of his blog, which as I mentioned before, packs a lot of information — blog entries, blogroll, job listings, etc. — into a single space without seeming the least bit overbearing. Much of that is due to his color scheme, which is incredibly pleasant on the eyes (especially the atmospheric imagery in the header), and a very judicious use of shadows.

Mind you, I’ve never met a drop shadow I didn’t like. But Bennett-Chamberlain’s are especially nice and do what drop shadows should do — serve as highlighters and separators, but the key here is subtlety.

Take a look through the new design, and be sure to check out his portfolio, which is chock full of simple, yet gorgeous work (such as Dalit Freedom Network and The City Church). Sigh… as with all great redesigns, part of me wants to hang up my copy of BBEdit in shame and part of me wants to roll up my sleeves and do my best to learn — and (hopefully) top it.

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