HN Explorer

What are the most visually appealing blogs you've seen?

18 points by ljdtt ↗ HN
Hi,

I am currently researching about blog designs, focusing specifically on the visual aspects that contribute to readability and overall aesthetic appeal. I’m talking about things like font choices, spacing, layout – all that good stuff that makes a blog not just readable but a pleasure to scroll through.

Could you share examples of blogs that you find exceptionally well-designed in these terms? I'm looking to understand what makes a blog not only readable but visually engaging. Got any blogs that you think nail the design aspect? Drop a link and maybe share what specifically catches your eye about them. Looking forward to seeing some cool examples!

Thanks.

16 comments

[ 4.0 ms ] story [ 40.3 ms ] thread
LargoLasskhyfv
https://gwern.net/index
kingkongjaffa
The dark mode on that site is awful, I had to immediately toggle to light mode.
LargoLasskhyfv
I haven't noticed, because I don't use dark mode, instead relying on dimming brightness and contrast of my displays while having soft and warm background illumination :-)

In light mode I miss some color themeing, like soft/warm something yellowbrown/manilapaperstyle instead of that hard black&white, but it still 'works for me' that way.

Or maybe a lighter grey like https://fabiensanglard.net/

If that were the case, I think something like this should be the default(on dektop) for wikipedia.

gwern
I'm surprised to hear that. I think it looks like a straightforward inversion of the light-mode, which you aren't complaining about, and generally, people seem to like it & I see lots of screenshots of it on social media.

Are you sure there is not a bug? Could you describe what is so bad about it or upload a screenshot somewhere? If you'd prefer to do this over email, I am <gwern@gwern.net>.

wruza
Can't share, but can describe from my experience. It doesn't distract you. No sticky-jumpy headers, floating elements or popups, animate.css scroll spies, top scroll bars. Doesn't burn your hand. Doesn't require to scroll two pages to get to the matter. The font is regular, with a normal contrast compatible with auto-darkmode extensions and daylight. Standard spacing and layout. Also, it has no issues with scrolling (especially if it's a blog about UX) -- that makes it a pleasure to scroll through.

I'm absolutely serious, some blogs nail the above and win my attention.

wonger_
Off the top of my head:

https://sonnet.io/

https://manuelmoreale.com/

https://robinrendle.com/

https://jero.zone/

Try clicking around their posts and seeing other blogs that these link to. The most pleasant blogs imo are designers' blogs that nail the fundamentals and avoid flashy gimmicks. Then it's programmer blogs who are humble enough to stick with safe default themes.

mrbirddev
I need to bookmark your reply :P
ChrisGranger
Click the timestamp and add it to your favorites.
[deleted]
(comment deleted)