For all the things I have read and books I have bought about the Media Lab, I have never been to their site.

It didn't disappoint.

It's hard to nail what I like so much about it, but I think is must be the appeal to the architect within me. The way that the transluscent planes extend to the vanishing point. May be it reminded me of Mies van der Rohe's orthagonal masterpiece, the Brick House that extends to infinity or his immaculate play with transparency and reflection in this Barcelona Pavillion.

Most of what you see on the Web these days (no little thanks to Mr. Nielsen) is very functional and useful. I think it must be the absolutely gratuitous use of gorgeous color and graphics that serve no apparent purpose that appeals to me the most :-)

ideo.com

IDEO is one of the most innovative design firms that engages in a wide range of design activities from the design of products, services, environment and digital experiences.

The company's website takes the approach, that images speak more loudly than words, and once you get past the uninformative splash page, you are offered a wide variety of pretty images to go exploring what IDEO has been doing and has to offer.

MoMA.org

This is a site that is well structured as it is beautiful. The image at the top establishes a strong visual appeal to each page, while the navigation elements on the left, provide clear links to the site content. This site is almost a text book approach to good IA design.

One of my new year's resolution is to contribute more regularly to this site. As with any new year's resolution, I really don't know how long it will last, but I guess it's better than not committing to anythng at all. So I've decided to start a new category Website Studies with the idea that since I spend half my day surfing anyway, I may as well present sites that I think are interesting from an IA or design point of view. One a week may be stretch but we'll see how it goes.