Well, this is the first Monday Magic of the New Year!

At one point, I had considered dropping this feature all together because it wasn’t garnering any responses (comments) and wasn’t doing as well as I had originally thought it would. However, after I ran the feedback survey, I was surprised to see that pretty much everyone wanted me to continue running this feature and that everyone approved and enjoyed it. So here I am again after missing last week’s entry.

This was a lot of fun to do this week because there were so many new sites out with great designs. It was extremely difficult being able to narrow it down to the categories that I’m working with, but I some how managed to do so and I think that the winners this week are definitely worthy. So take a look, and let me know what you think!

Most Original:

Paul J. Noble has one of the most original and refreshing sites I’ve had the pleasure of seeing in a while. Sure the whole “side-scrolling” thing isn’t entirely too original, but this is a great twist to an old gimmick. Navigation is handled either by clicking the arrow buttons on the bottom left, clicking the thumbnail boxes that you want to see, or by using your arrow keys (which is what I used). It was very fun and felt a lot more interactive then simply scrolling around and clicking on someone’s work.

Tip: It’s definitely difficult to come up with original ideas. So, do what you’re best at doing. Think creatively. How would you twist an old idea into something that’s new and refreshing? Think innovation. Some of the greatest inventions are simply improvements on existing technology.

Boldest Design:

I’ve seen some creative portfolios that were hand drawn in the past, but none for a larger agency. BootB delivers a new site almost entirely hand drawn and it looks good while doing it! In my opinion, only some of the best designers in the world can pull off this kind of look, and while BootB’s site struggles a little with its content and navigation design because of this, I think the initial impressions are strong enough for you to disregard that fact. This is a very bold design, countering all of their competitors while delivering a refreshing experience to its clients. BootB is pretty much an international design agency that caters to world class corporations (or at least, that’s what I understood from it).

Tip: Sometimes going against the norm will help you out. It’s also equally important to understand that while some fads have come and gone, seeing them again every now and then when the mediums have completely changed, may have a refreshing “retro” feel to it. Great job BootB.

Most Professional:

Flash Loaded is one of the best flash resources that designers have available to them. With that being said, it’s great to see that they’ve launched a new interface for themselves, and it really spotlights their products and services. With this redesign however, it seems that their target demographic has changed as well, and instead of selling smaller flash nifties (which FlashDen has really dominated) they are instead focusing on larger flash tools and interfaces. This is a great move in my book and their website really reflects their intentions and the rebirth of a new image.

Tip: It’s important to communicate with a website design. The best ones are the ones that speak for itself. FlashLoaded’s site talks to professional flash developers and designers with high profile clients, instead of FlashDen’s community ran site for smaller designers (and most likely freelancers).

Site of the Week:

Now before you complain or question my political stance, please understand that my decision for picking this site is simple: It’s beautiful. Politics played no roll whatsoever, but I can tell you that Obama is definitely not my #1 choice this year (who is? well, that’s for another story). But there’s no denying the fact that the Barack Obama website is beautiful. The colors are smooth, the graphics are nice, and it really brands the client himself. All of his competitors really have lame websites (Ron Paul is the closest one to above average status) and separating himself with such a site really improves his reputation in my book.

Tip: Your client’s brand and identity is probably the most important thing to them. They want it to be repeated throughout the website. Don’t think of a project as completely separate from your client, but rather an extension of their personality and reflections on the industry. This will help strengthen their identity. The best designers in the world are the ones that can carry on their client’s brand recognition through site design (this is also probably the hardest thing for a designer to accomplish).

Artist of the Week:

Colbie Caillat is one of my favorite new discoveries. She’s got a very pure and smooth voice that really touches you. It’s very soothing and allows me to work very well. It definitely gets my creative juices flowing. She’s got this great bluesy voice that’s really deep and intimate. I’d really recommend you get this one if you like female vocalists singing calm music while you work.