Sightings: One excellent site each day.

Previous Sightings
March, 2001

KG World Wide
Here's an example of how well a simple design can work. This site presents a clear navigation path for the user, but still maintains a professional designer's flair. Go to "The History" page to see a cool horizontal scroll interface. (Sighted by Glen Kunene)

4Site Internet
Don't click around this site too quickly; you might miss some of the great animation and images. From the Flash Intro to the Contact Info page, every aspect of the site is given a rich, interactive interface. (Sighted by Glen Kunene)

SodaConstructor
This visually simple site showcases an online toy "where you can build and play with things made out of masses, springs, and muscles." Play with and build your own Java-based robot. (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

Fourmilab Switzerland
OK, so the site looks like the early days of the Web, with bare-bones text and annoying frames, but what this site lacks in visual appeal it more than makes up for in compelling content. Where else can you get an Earth and Moon Viewer, view a live positional map of the solar system, read a paper that presents "wild-ass speculation about" nanomechanical fusion machines, and download Internet telephone software for free and without banner ads? (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

The Smoking Gun
Talk about staying au courant! Two days after Dale Earnhardt crashed his car on the last lap of the Daytona 500, this site posted the Daytona Beach Police Department's official record of the incident. This site promises, and they deliver. As they describe themselves, "The Smoking Gun brings you exclusive documents--cool, confidential, quirky--that can't be found elsewhere on the Web. Using material obtained from government and law enforcement sources, via Freedom of Information requests, and from court files nationwide, we guarantee everything here is 100% authentic. The Smoking Gun is a Pierre Salinger-free zone." (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

The World's Water
Bear with us, OK? This site is "dedicated to providing up-to-date water information and data and Web connections to organizations, institutions, and individuals working on a wide range of global freshwater problems and solutions." Sounds like a snore, right? But check out the map showing "Populations without Access to Drinking Water" and you'll get a shiver. Water is more important in the scheme of things than your latest cool Java applet or even a successful IPO, so check out this site and get hip to the reality of water on this planet: where it is, where it isn't, and what happens when water struggles surface. (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

Hoax du Jour
*You* are probably smart enough to smell out an e-mail hoax when it pops up in your inbox, right? But millions of Internet users aren't so lucky. It's for them that David Spalding has created this site. "Naive users of the Internet are subjected to a daily barrage of data that are erroneous, slanderous, and sometimes even destructive. This page is dedicated to discussing intentional misinformation, or 'Net hoaxes." Friends don't let friends forward e-mail hoaxes. Bookmark this site and share it with your friends, family members, and coworkers when they forward or believe in something stupid that someone e-mails them. (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

Press Nothing to Continue
Not exactly a Web site as you know it, but a Weblog that's published over the phone. "Messages are input into a VXML (Voice XML) document using Blogger, an online publishing tool. Then, when someone calls the 0sil8 extension, that VXML document is published to the phone by Tellme Networks." It's eerie to listen to the slightly British computer voice reading the messages, but get used to it: it may very well become a fixture in our (wireless, cell phone-rigged) future. (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

Australian INfront
They say "INfront is a collaborative project space and launch pad to Australia's best online designers, artists, design companies and other related web sites." I say it's an interesting use of *one color* to design a site. Monochromatic doesn't have to be boring! (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

marchFIRST
Here's a nice use of white space in an otherwise colorful design. (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

CodeHound
Dubbing itself the "Software Developer's Search Engine," this site proudly lists what it *doesn't* offer so that readers can focus on what it *does* offer: "no chat rooms, no polls, no news, no virtual tradeshows, no discussion groups, no mailing lists, no registration, no career centers, no editor's picks, no online events, no forums." Lesson: know your users--sometimes less is more to them. (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

FuriFuri Co.
This Tokyo design company has a delightfully cool splash page, followed by a nice use of vertical links in a script-like font. In color and design, the site echoes its culture. Nice job. (Sighted by Susan Parini)

Leica C1
At first this site for the Leica C1 looks like a simple, tastefully designed product sheet for a sexy camera (showing different views of the camera, no less). But move your mouse over the "Leica.Products" link on the middle navbar. As you move up and down, the link follows you and changes to read Leica.Culture, Leica.Corporate, and Leica.Market. Now that's cool! (Sighted by Susan Parini)

Dennis Interactive
After the site loads, you're treated to several highly animated menus, with all sorts of things popping out and moving about. There's sound too. It's fun and interactive, which it ought to be. (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

Nick Ciske
This personal portfolio site shows a nice "expando" menu structure. Who says you have to be rectilinear? (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

Chickenhead
This is a great spoof site—well organized and thoughtfully done. If you're feeling a little bit bitter about humanity in general, check out this site often for a good chuckle. (Sighted by Carrie Lechner)

Freak Engine
This Memphis, TN, art show site has always got something new going on. (Sighted by Carrie Lechner)

TheSpark Network
Great use of interactive tests and games for entertainment purposes. Nothing serious going on here, but who can resist taking the "Gender Test" where the site guesses your gender based on your responses—they claim that it gets smarter all the time. (Sighted by Carrie Lechner)

Abysmal Diving
This dive site has a great Flash "underwater" intro sequence, which leads to a well organized collection of news, articles, demos, and more. (Sighted by Alma Smith)

GOUW.NU
This collection of Internet artwork could be both practical and purely inspirational for your Web design projects. (Sighted by Bart Willems)

Noah Grey's 404 error page
Just because people encounter a dead link on your site doesn't mean they have to look at a boring page telling them so. Noah Grey has created a very lovely alternative to the default page you usually see. (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

Erin Sharkey's helpful checkbox
[UPDATE: This link no longer shows what I say it does.] It's not the site as a whole that I think is so cool, but the little checkbox at the top that asks, "OPEN LINKS IN A NEW WINDOW?" Not everyone who uses your site knows about the usefulness of the mouse's right button, which allows you easily to open a link in a new browser window--and Mac users don't even have a right button. But Erin at least allows people to decide what they want their link clicks to do. [OK, so others do this too, but hers was where I saw it first, so there!] (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

Megnut's source code
Sometimes you can convey information without being overt. Ever thought of mixing thoughts within your HTML source code? View source to see what I mean. (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

Maruto's Once Upon a Forest
Not sure what to make of this site exactly, but here's an intriguing collection of visual soundscapes by Maruto, a "celestial architect." Move your mouse about these images and you'll see some things change. (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

Form.de logo
Here's one way to keep your logo always visible. Scroll down and see the "form.de" box float down too. (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

Ozone
Unbelievable menuing system with all sorts of DHTML going on. This guy is a genius or something. (Sighted by Jeremy King)

Stephane Bourson Photography
This self-taught photographer has arranged his portfolio in a very nicely arranged grid that's functional yet attractive. (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

The Spleen
Piotr Szyhalski's site is an odd one but fun to explore and discover. Wonderful design and unique content. (Sighting by Shannon & Bernhard Neuhofer)

Broken Saints (graphic novel)
After determining your computer's connection speed and configuration, this site reveals itself as a 24-episode online graphic novel created in Flash. Best viewed under low lighting conditions and with the volume turned up. Incense would help too. (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

Retro DC
This nice personal site shows Steve Jencks's recent work. It's cool without resorting to cheap tricks. (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)