I’d like to mention at once that I am not a Web 2.0 fan. Mostly because no one knows what this term means. I am not against social networks and I entirely support AJAX though. But I do not understand who needs this Web 2.0 just maybe in order of making fool of venture investors. However whether we like it or not, this term has already entered our lives and our customers are asking us to create in Web 2.0 Design Style.

But what is Web 2.0 Design Style? Reflection depicted to letters? Rounded corners? Simply give up these popular cliché as these are trifles not worth of our attention and lets try to understand it with the help of examples. I took the liberty of composing some set of the brightest samples, in my opinion, of the new wave of web design.

While composing this list I could formulate first important observation: the most popular resources do not necessarily differ with worked out visual interface. There are real pearls like flickr, but there are much more sites designed for C or even D. Please note that I do not mean crude look but at the same time nice and convenient interface of Google applications. But one can not look at new Yahoo tearless. Although Yahoo has a thought-out interface while LiveJournal does not differ with beauty and convenience. Unfortunately there is a huge amount of such web sites even among very popular ones.

Anyway, let us forget about bad things here and mention only good. Here are five thoroughly selected samples of the new styled design:

www.flickr.com

www.blinksale.com

www.skype.com

www.digg.com

www.blogger.com

As you can see it’s quite difficult to find some common features at the visual style. What’s in common between flickr and skype? Is there anything in common between digg and blogger designs? A fresh look at these websites while each of them in its own way is wonderful reveals complete incapability of the lists like “Six Techniques of Web 2.0 Design”.

Let’s try to formulate signs of this era more generally:

1. Orientation for Interaction.
Usually interaction of the user with the common web site is limited to switching from one page to another. Although user’s interaction with internet shop is much complicated especially at the moment of purchasing. However if the goods are shown to its full advantages, user is eager to overcome some difficulties in order to get one then. Thus, the main Web 1.0 idea of web designer was to present the content but not interaction organization. But everything goes otherwise with Web 2.0: there won’t be any content without interaction as users themselves create this content. The originated need of interaction facilitation of the user with the website is successfully performed with the help of AJAX technology came just in time.

2. Only for Web.
Web 2.0 project lives only in web and shows its face just at the monitors. No one needs a signboard above the door, newspaper advertising, souvenirs with logo or business cards. It doesn’t mean that the logo of the project should necessarily contain some glares, reflections or any other complicated visual effects, but it can afford containing them.

3. No Pathos.
Web 2.0 site is not a branch office with marble floors and golden chandeliers. The project might have no physical location as well as the service offered might be available right here on the distance of several clicks; frequently absolutely for free. That is why Web 2.0 site might afford a luxury of looking frivolous. Probably it is one of the reasons of fantastic inspiration which techno maniacs promote Web 2.0 with. However, in order to look wonderfully frivolous you should treat the visual design with all its gravity. Unfortunately, most people do not understand it, and thus comes the abundance of poor design which I have mentioned above.

Web 2.0 may be compared with a big elephant. Someone touches its forefeet or its tail and he says that Web 2.0 looks like rounded columns, Web 2.0 looks like a rope… Three signs described above was an attempt to step aside from the elephant and try to see the whole picture. From the point of view of visual design do not get caught in an endless loop of tiny details like rounded corners, shadows, reflections, etc. As you can see there is an exciting picture here: participation in Web 2.0 projects allows designers to make web more convenient, more human-like and more vivid. And this is not just a favorable opportunity, it is also a challenge for our talent and skills which we take with great inspiration.