G.I. Joe: America's movable fighting man - brilliant!

One of my favourites has got to be the original G.I. Joe! Nothing like it had ever been on offer before, and I still remember the longing I had for my very own Joe action figure when I heard of their existence. Standing at an impressive 12 inches, Joe was fantastic! Dressed in realistic combat fatigues and sporting a virtual arsenal of various weapons and other equipment. Nowadays you can still by Joe of course (and a blockbuster movie has even been released based on the classic toy), but these new figurines are nothing compared to the might of the original G.I. Joe, a truly classic conceptual design that still has a place in every young boy’s bedroom.

The original 1959 Barbie doll.

Another toy which bares a somewhat similar history is Mattel’s iconic doll for girls – the Barbie doll. Although I didn’t play with Barbies personally, I had two younger sisters who couldn’t get enough of them. This toy’s design is especially interesting when you consider how much it has changed over the years. Transforming from an incredibly unrealistic model of the female form, to what has now become, her metamorphosis has taken over half a decade and is an iconic symbol of the struggle for women’s rights. Often ridiculed by women’s liberalists, the original Barbie doll has had its fair share of controversy, and her evolution over the last 5 decades offers in interesting insight into this area of social history. There aren’t many toys that could say the same these days! Well that’s my little rant! I hope you’ve enjoyed thinking back to the old toys you used to love when you were young. I’ve still got my original G.I. Joe packed away somewhere, maybe I’ll dig him up and have a play =) A special thanks also to the wonderful team at www.toyswholesale.com.au for sponsoring this piece.

Over the last 5 years or so, the internet has changed dramatically. With the full extent of the web 2.0 dream now being realised, sites have evolved from the static html standards of the 1990s, to the far more sophisticated CSS governed web sites that we enjoy today. Not only have we seen the internet become far more interactive in terms of userbility, but website design has become cleaner, sharper, and generally more aesthetically pleasing in the process. The cluttered and confusing websites of yesteryear have been discarded in favour of simplicity, great images combined with easy to read text and relevant content, helping to shape the internet of tomorrow.

Websites like this one, designed and built by Melbourne-based digital agency MessageForce, are a fantastic example of the effectiveness that this new perspective on web design can achieve:

Simple, easy to navigate websites like this are just wonderful to stumble upon. With the large imagery contrasted against the clean white background, this website design is in my opinion a very well put together product indeed.

Similarly, this design from Christian Sparrow is just brilliant, and exhibits some of the most exciting trends in website design from 2010:

A unique and personalised look, this design features hand drawn sketches that display on the page quite beautifully. Again, this design is incredibly effective is its subtlety, a technique that really pays off in my opinion.

With designs like this becoming more and more popular, the internet no longer just a hub for  information, it’s becoming a virtual world of beautiful images and creative techniques which is truly an exciting concept for us to look forward to.