My first panel of the conference could arguably have been called Everything You Know About Web Content is Wrong. In it Dan Willis compared current websites to early film. Film began as nothing more then theatrical performance captured on film. It wasn’t until 1915’s Birth of a Nation that film progressed to the next level i.e. multiple camera angles editing etc. Likewise todays web design and content is often nothing more then a print brochure in disguise. Sure their maybe some web native content on a site but it’s often in its own section on the site.

“Just as early filmmakers struggled to break free from the conventions of live theater, after 10+ years web designers are still trapped in the structures of the past. Forget pages, linear text and other archaic vestiges of design’s print ancestry.” -Dan Willis

He urged us to use design to solve the problem this 21st century problem and help web design transcend print design.

After a short break I returned to one of the massive ball rooms in the Austin Convention Center to take in a discussion called Oooh, That’s Clever! (Unnatural Experiments in Web Design). Though nothing earth shattering Paul Annett designer at Clearleft Ltd. shared his love of surprise. Be it in the form of easter eggs, neat css tricks or just unique design solutions. I’m hoping that Paul uploads his slideshow soon so that I can share some fun urls.