To me the interesting sites are those the author would call ugly by design (i.e, not the ones that are ugly because there was no money to hire a designer, or because the programmer thought he was a designer.)
But with those, I think bueno misses the point: these sites represent the edge of design. They are designers trying to create something unique, trying to find a spark. When successful, it's usually a small crowd that "gets it": they're passionate about it while many, maybe even a majority, hate it. If it's truly good, eventually the majority gets converted. I'm in the majority with the Honda Element, for example: to my shock I'm beginning to come around.
Most edge design, though, IS ugly, will gain only hedging admiration from the designer's mother and averted gazes from his wife. But it's not intended to be bad, it's intended to be revolutionary.
I didn't mean to suggest that there are no programmers who can do good design -- I'm sure there are many. I suspect that most programmers (like most bus drivers, or most doctors) aren't good designers, though. But unlike bus drivers or doctors, programmers are often pressed into design work: sometimes by their boss, sometimes by their ego. :)
But with those, I think bueno misses the point: these sites represent the edge of design. They are designers trying to create something unique, trying to find a spark. When successful, it's usually a small crowd that "gets it": they're passionate about it while many, maybe even a majority, hate it. If it's truly good, eventually the majority gets converted. I'm in the majority with the Honda Element, for example: to my shock I'm beginning to come around.
Most edge design, though, IS ugly, will gain only hedging admiration from the designer's mother and averted gazes from his wife. But it's not intended to be bad, it's intended to be revolutionary.