How does one break out of web 2.0 design?

So I'm here trying to find inspiration for my websites....I can come up with themes, but to make them practical(as in more usable) I have to make them cleaner and clearer. It's hard to explain, but can someone give me an example of a design that is both practical and beautiful? Anything without the usual diagonal stripes, gel effects, gradients, big fonts etc...

How does one break out of web 2.0 design?
Your question is unclear!


"break out of web 2.0"?


Web 2.0 is NOT a question of "graphism": it is a way of CODING!


Web 2.0 means that all "pages" are fully INTERACTIVE,


so when the surfer clicks or hoover on something, something happens, but the PAGE does NOT refresh (reload).


This is achieved with extensive use of AJAX (again, nothing to do with graphics!)
Reply:Web 2.0 is the new age of (world wide) Web and a way of interaction, presentation, communication, information management (etc) on the web.





To make this easier, websites have enhanced their user interfaces to achieve the (above mentioned) purpose. Thus they are more smart, elegant, clean and user friendly that they used to be.





What you want to do is design a site in the traditional design. Mentally have a sketch of what you want your site to look like. Start with HTML. Keep things simple (that's the difficult part). Avoid using CSS and javascript as much as possible.





I'd suggest keep the page background white and text color black. Have information organised, well labeled and accessible. That will make it more usable and practical while eliminating the use of special effects, graphics etc.





Regards


Shivanand Sharma


http://www.thestasis.com