Design like it’s…
When I was working (on my own) in the studio between Christmas and New Year, I played the Live Aid DVD which the guys bought me for my birthday.
When I was working (on my own) in the studio between Christmas and New Year, I played the Live Aid DVD which the guys bought me for my birthday. As well as singing along (badly) to songs I had forgotten (Ed: How come you always remember the words?) I started thinking about what role the web would have played in the event if it had been around in 1985?
Live Aid 1985
I’m sure most need no reminding of the impact of Live Aid. Millions raised to help disaster victims in Africa, awareness of the tragedy and musicians helping to make charity ’cool’. Through phone-lines, direct donations and the sale of merchandise, Live Aid made a difference when it mattered.
If Live Aid were to be held now, the web would help massively, through online donations, premium content, SMS messenging and online merchandise sales. The concert itself might be streamed over the web and bands not playing at the main event might stream their own ’unofficial’ performances from their own sites making it a real global event. But in 1985 there was no Live Aid web site, so I got to thinking…
Design like it’s…
I thought that it might be fun this year to run a series of design articles making site designs for ’before the web’, starting with 1985. It might be fun to design ’in the style of’, working back from 1985. Looking into interior design, cars, movies and music to draw inspiration.
1985
So… to kick-off with 1985, the year that,
- Live Aid concert raises money for the starving in Africa
- Gorbachev becomes Soviet leader
- Back to the Future movie is released
- Wreckage of RMS Titanic is found
- Ronald Reagan starts his second term as US president
- Alexey Pajitnov develops Tetris
What’s it going to be?
I thought that it might be fun to throw open the choice of topic for you to decide, and rather than leave the design challenge just to me, anyone interested can also make designs. Perhaps we could even make it into some kind of competition as Version 2 seems to have died a death.
What do you think?
Comments
#1 On January 3, 2005 12:29 PM Jeremy Freeman said:
You should have a look at this Web Archives link. I had lots of fun looking at how ’bad’ your site was back in 2000!
Go to this URL - https://www.archive.org/web/web.php - it’s so cool! Enjoy!
#2 On January 3, 2005 12:41 PM John Oxton said:
I think I will set up a, how to do the rubik’s cube blog, or maybe how to connect your Atari to the interweb.
Just out of interest, does anyone else remember wearing odd, brightly coloured socks in the 80’s? Or was it just a Welsh thing.
Count me in Malarkey, sounds like fun!
#3 On January 3, 2005 12:46 PM John Oxton said:
Sorry…
One question, will this be table based designs? surely CSS isn’t trendy in the decade fashion forgot?#4 On January 3, 2005 03:50 PM Dave Strus said:
It doesn’t make much sense to me to limit it to tables or to enforce any other technological limitations since the Web itself didn’t exist at the time.
The design, not the technology to create or render the design, should be reminiscent of the era. Right?
#5 On January 3, 2005 04:29 PM Malarkey said:
@ Dave Strus: Yeh, that was my idea… a bit of a
what if…
, designing ’lost’ sites.@ John Oxton: You of all people should know that there is no such thing as a
table based design
, only a table based implementation of a design. ;) (And no, it looks like only you had a sock fetish.)So what are we going to design for? Suggestions?
#6 On January 3, 2005 04:57 PM paul haine said:
It wasn’t just the Welsh. I, and my brothers, all had fluorescent socks for a time, in nice bright yellow, pink and green, as if someone had washed some white socks but chucked a packet of highlighting markers in as well.
#7 On January 3, 2005 08:46 PM Peter J.Lambert said:
I did the odd, flourescent, fluffy sock thing in the eighties. And I was only a kid really as I was born in ’80.
My parents must have been negligent to let me do something like that.
#8 On January 3, 2005 10:38 PM Jason Beaird said:
I think I’ve got the drift, Malarkey. Now that I’ve got styleswitching working for my site, it’s about time to create some good options for my visitors.
When i think of the mid 80’s, it brings to mind:
BBS Games (Legend of the Red Dragon, Trade Wars, & Lunatix)
Movies (Top Gun, The Breakfast Club, & Risky Business)
Music (Survivor, Tears for Fears, Foreigner)
Nintendo Games ( Zelda, Metroid, Punch-Out)
Wow! So many memories.Anybody have any other categories of inspiration?
#9 On January 4, 2005 05:44 AM Ben Vaughan said:
Okay, how about November, 1989 (almost the end of the 80’s but…), the fall of the Berlin wall and the beginning of the end of the USSR as a superpower.
Much to be done with retro russian graphic styles :)
#10 On January 4, 2005 07:17 AM Malarkey said:
Interesting suggestion Ben, but the bust of Lenin on my desk would never forgive me.
I want to stick to 1985 (as it’s now 2005) and then work back (1975, 65, 55 etc.).
#11 On January 4, 2005 08:21 AM Chris said:
The design should show that "Feed the world" has fed the stars but that the world is still hungry.
#12 On January 4, 2005 11:35 AM Schultz said:
I would love to help sounds like a great project.
So it will be actualy a site?
I must get some green socks.#13 On January 4, 2005 06:50 PM Ben Ward said:
@ John Oxton. Being all of 1 year old in 1985, I can probably vouch for wearing some disasterously coloured clothing, maybe socks.
Considering Malarkey’s comment about the 10 years though, maybe you’ve actually uncovered the inspiration behind Apple’s "iPod Socks".#14 On January 5, 2005 07:01 PM Ben Vaughan said:
Whoops! My mistake! hmmmmm
DNS was created.
Gorbachev came to power
Buckyballs were discoverd!Not much pop culture, but some interesting bits none the less.
At least, if you have a degree in history. :)#15 On January 8, 2005 12:19 AM Andrew Krespanis said:
’85?
Ok, we’ve got triangles, lots of them. Triangles in peoples hair styles, women’s ’power suits’ with a big inverted triangle for the shoulders, you get the idea.
What else? We’ve got fluro tones being mixed like never before -- only in the 80’s did bright pink work with bright orange (or so they thought!).
And in the spirit of Back to the Future, lots of chrome and plastic.This is going to be sweet :D
January 3, 2005 • Andy Clarke • design • events • music