Best of CSS Design 2008

Last December, I posted a list of the best designs in 2007. Now, it is time for — Best of CSS Design 2008 (a new list of 50 websites hand-picked from Best Web Gallery). This year, more designers are using the large background technique and utilizing Javascript frameworks (such as jQuery and MooTools) to enchance the user experience. I also came across a few designs that mixed Flash with CSS; perhaps a new trend we should look for in 2009?
Let It Bleed
Big bold visual images make this website stand out from the crowd.
[url=http://www.letitbleedbook.com/]

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Vermont Coffee Works
Good use of Flash mixed with CSS.
[url=http://www.vermontcoffeeworks.com/]

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Digital Mash
[url=http://digitalmash.com/]

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Good
Good visual and content-focused design.
[url=http://www.good.is/]

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Wilson Miner
[url=http://www.wilsonminer.com/]

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DrupalCon, DC
[url=http://dc2009.drupalcon.org/]

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Future of Web Apps - Miami 2009
An excellent mixture of big font and grungy effects.
[url=http://events.carsonified.com/fowa/2009/miami]

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Housing Works
Nice use of large background on the homepage. Large background web design is very hot lately.
[url=http://www.housingworks.org/]

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Future of Web Design - NYC 2008
Another nice example of large background design.
[url=http://www.futureofwebdesign.com/2008/newyork/]

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Tennessee - Fall
I have to admit, Tennessee’s sites are one of the best series — Fall, Spring, Summer, and Winter.
[url=http://fall.tnvacation.com/]

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Tennessee - Spring
[url=http://spring.tnvacation.com/]

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Tennessee - Summer
[url=http://summer.tnvacation.com/]

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Tennessee - Winter
[url=http://winter.tnvacation.com/]

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Five Runs
[url=http://www.fiveruns.com/]

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Branded07
[url=http://www.branded07.com/]

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Cappuccino
A very origanized site with great usability.
[url=http://cappuccino.org/]

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LightCMS
LightCMS incorporated some pencil/sketchy effects, yet maintained its corporate feel.
[url=http://www.speaklight.com/]

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The First Twenty
Nicely designed one-page site.
[url=http://thefirsttwenty.com/]

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YouLove.Us
Great implementation of CSS and Javascript (jQuery).
[url=http://youlove.us/]

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Luke Larsen
The aquarium themed portfolio of Luke Larsen demonstrates great use of jQuery’s Scrollto plugin.
[url=http://lukelarsen.com/]

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Design Disease
Wavy and rounded shapes make this site look fun and interesting.
[url=http://designdisease.com/]

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Adaptd
Although the design style reminds me of ISO50 (Scott Hansen), but it is worth to mention.
[url=http://adaptd.com/]

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Jason Santa Maria
[url=http://jasonsantamaria.com/]

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Electricurrent
Notice how Electricurrent used the background image technique to display the portfolio images?
[url=http://www.electricurrent.com/]

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Training by Collective Idea
[url=http://training.collectiveidea.com/]

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MacAllan Ridge
Good visual design, easy navigation — two thumbs up.
[url=http://macallanridge.com/]

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Pikaboo
A cool design that combined CSS, Javascript, and Flash technology.
[url=http://www.pikaboo.be/]

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Mochi Ads
[url=http://www.mochiads.com/]

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Fling Media
[url=http://www.flingmedia.com/]

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eWedding
[url=http://www.ewedding.com/]

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Viget
Viget did a great job on branding their image by maintaining the consistency throughout their series of blogs — Inspire, Advance, Engage, and Extend.
[url=http://www.viget.com/]

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Viget - Inspire
[url=http://www.viget.com/inspire]

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Viget - Advance
[url=http://www.viget.com/advance/]

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Viget - Engage
[url=http://www.viget.com/engage]

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Viget - Extend
[url=http://www.viget.com/extend/]

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August
An awesome design that used Flash scalable image as the background (resize your browser to see the scalable background).
[url=http://www.august.com.au/]

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Car Freaks
This blog frequently change their homepage background photo to provide refreshing feel.
[url=http://carfreaks.net/]

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Go To China
Here is a perfect example that uses high resolution photos for website’s background. Notice the background image is scalable based on your browser size (done by Javascript CSS).
[url=http://ringvemedia.com/]

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Jesus Christ
[url=http://jesuschrist.lds.org/SonOfGod/eng/]

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Billy Hughes
[url=http://billyhughes.oph.gov.au/]

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Free People
FreePeople is my all time favorite design (love the collage style).
[url=http://www.freepeople.com/]

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Mouse to Minx
Retro and sexy.
[url=http://www.mousetominx.co.uk/]

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Dara’s Garden
[url=http://www.darasgarden.com/]

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Design Sponge
The scrapbook design style is a perfect match for the site’s content.
[url=http://www.designspongeonline.com/]

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Ma.tt
[url=http://ma.tt/]

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The Lippincott
[url=http://www.thelippincott.net/]

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Hot Meteor
Love the [font=Georgia]hot retro[/font] font!
[url=http://www.hotmeteor.com/]

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Fortyseven Media
[url=http://fortysevenmedia.com/]

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The Old State
It is rare to find such a beautiful black and white theme.
[url=http://www.theoldstate.com/blog/]

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