Why is everyone imitating Lebedev?

Question

User interface

Don't get me wrong, I'm really interested (not rhetorical questions and not sarcasm).

Why does Lebedev's "all links have to be underlined" and for example CNN ,
AOL (and thousands of other sites) have other ways to highlight a link (eg color, underline on hover)?

Why is navigation always visually highlighted on good Western sites, while Lebedev's navigation is a bunch of underlined links? Personally, I get lost on sites like http://navitel.su/ , http://gazprom.ru/ or http://rosno.ru/ . Looking closely, of course I understand where to click, but only looking closely.

Why does Lebedev always have a search, somewhere at the end of the page (you have to look for it by scrolling the page)?

Why did he stick to Lebedev, you ask.

Nothing personal, just the entire Runet imitates him (almost all Russian sites) are made "according to Lebedev's recipe" (my opinion). By the way, why?

Answer 1

Lebedev is an excellent PR man. He does and convinces everyone that it's cool. He often sells the same as others, but ten times more expensive. For myself, I compare Lebedev with Jobs. Both have good things and not so good things. But the rule “This is Lebedev (Apple)!” works! and everyone is happy. Continuing your thought - "Why is everyone imitating Apple?". See how similar iPhone, HTC, Samsung are…
As for the web, everything that is underlined (at least in RuNet) is intuitively perceived as a link. And it's often hard to figure out what's what when the link isn't underlined or styled like, again, an intuitive button.
And then, why, in the end, to some extent not imitate? What's bad about it? Call it not "imitating" but "following advice." He is very right about many things. Like, for example, that the "delete" button should be red, that animated banners should be used - mauvais ton, and so on.

Answer 2

“All Russian sites are made according to Lebedev's recipe”, because he is 100,500 times right in many things and managed to state it in an understandable language for everyone.

Answer 3

Have you ever thought why if you write a “clean” html link without css, it will be underlined and blue by default? In all browsers. These are traditions.
If Lebedev calls for the use of underlined links, this does not mean that those who use them imitate the work of Lebedev's studio designers.
In the design of the hub, however, all links are underlined. And in my opinion, the navigation is clear enough.

Answer 4

Tatyanych, such a Tatyanych.
I personally can't stand his work, and I don't consider him a super duper designer.
But thanks for the Segmentus Screensaver .

Answer 5

This is not called "imitation of Lebedev."
Lebedev keeps a close eye on typography on his websites. The layout of information greatly affects its perception. There are standards, tortured over the years. A good book, a good newspaper, a magazine, a pamphlet, they are always laid out according to these standards.
Here you put the AOL site as an example, that their links are not underlined. Let's see: we open the site, we see a bunch of headings like "Latest Headlines", "Local News and Weather", etc. It is immediately unclear that these headers are links. Yes, when hovering, they are highlighted and then the realization comes that this is a link. Then we see exactly the same title “Most popular”, we try to click on it - but this is no longer a link! Why? Why should I move my mouse over different parts of the site and try to determine if the title is a link or not?
Apple site. There are also no underlined links. But there you can click on almost any picture, on anya banner that clearly says where I'm going. Any block of information on the Apple website is "clickable". If the block is not "clickable" in its entirety, then all links are highlighted in color, but there are not very many such places.
And, I think, if in the West they began to underline links, then nothing terrible would happen. On the contrary, many sites would become more understandable for their first visitor.

Answer 6

Lebedev and his studio are trendsetters of interfaces. It so happened that they were the first in Russia to start doing this. And they are primarily engaged in interface design (whether it’s a website or a toilet bowl) to make working with them convenient. What happens in the end is also affected by the customer, if he could not be convinced.
Lebedev introduced the “rubber” design and links with dotted underlining into wide circulation, which is currently the hallmark of the Runet. To repeat after him or not to repeat is everyone's business. Some of the ideas are very good in my opinion.
I myself have nothing to do with design, I can only say whether I like it or not.

Answer 7

It seems to me that it’s not Lebedev’s fault, it’s so “fashionable” with us, and Lebedev only follows our fashion and pushes some of his ideas (one of a certain number of fashion creators)

Answer 8

Pay no attention to Lebedev. People who imitate Lebedev imitate him because they do not know the subject, and they cannot say for themselves what is better and what is worse, and therefore they are looking for a model that seems to be successful in every sense. If it doesn’t suit you, it’s even good, listen to yourself.
Lebedev's native style is wow design, that is, something unusual, amazing, but, by the way, quickly transient. Favorite trick - pun (onion with the signature "Look!", piggy bank in the form of a bomb - by the way, an example of bad taste, "Fen Quixote" , clothespins-batsetc.). In interface design, all this only interferes, so personally I would not take Lebedev's work as a model here, or I would be critical. Personally, Lebedev's style is not close to me, and if we take an example from them, it is in the fact that they give out work after work, and they will draw the font, if necessary, and modify the photos by hand to look (not free, of course, but nevertheless), and their portfolio is a feast for the eyes, I would like that.
[By the way, Lebedev is already so popular that everything is attributed to him. For example, many believe that it was he who made the Alpha-Click interface, although this is most likely not the case .]

Answer 9

Individuality and good style, well done.

Answer 10

In my opinion, the glory of Artemy haunts you.

Answer 11

Artemy is quite charismatic and his site artlebedev.ru is quite original but not convenient (IMHO). Instead of Lebedev, I can cite Pirogov as an example. I'm not talking about a person, but about the fact that there is an obsession with certain rules (which, I think, were developed by Lebedev's studio, as the oldest, largest and most respected website developer in Runet).

Answer 12

I will explain my attitude to the underlining of links. If I'm reading a Wikipedia article and I come across a link in the text, the best solution for me to understand that this is a link is underlining . Because if I only highlight this link in a different color, then I might not understand that this is a clickable link. Underlining is a historical way of highlighting links on the web. I understand and acknowledge this.
However, I believe that the apple approach (for example) to the formation of a group of navigation links (highlighting with a background) is also acceptable and its use in RuNet is acceptable.
I think that given the general style of the site, think over the style of the link in advance so that it is recognizable in the context of the design (I do not rule out underlining). Moreover, a link in the text of an article and a navigation menu item are slightly different things.

Answer 13

It's just now time to separate links and buttons. IMHO, the author is unhappy with the fact that many interface elements, which should be buttons by default, are designed as links.
The place of the underlined link today is somewhere in the text blocks. To clearly see that here it is, a link in the text.
The rest of the interface elements are now better to be decorated with buttons, if only because on the same iPad it is more convenient to poke a finger into a button than to aim with a little finger at a small link.

Answer 14

Anything can be highlighted with color, and underlined text is almost guaranteed to be a link.

Answer 15

And it infuriates me when links are not underlined. I have to hover over "link" and see if it's a link or just text. There is no clarity without underlining, and if it is underlined, then this is a link and I boldly click on it.

Answer 16

> Why is everyone imitating Lebedev?
Not all.

Answer 17

Many more write Electromail. Some even, not knowing where it came from, are trying to prove to me that writing Contacts is bad, but you need to write Contact information - also from Lebedev xD I don’t see anything wrong with this if a person understands and admits that he borrows these ideas and supports them. Why not take good ideas from him, because he honestly shares them. With pleasure I periodically read Guidelines and Business Lynch.

Answer 18

There is a belief that links mean a transition to another page, and buttons mean an action (for example, send or save).
It is also customary in Runet (they say Lebedev himself came up with) that links that do not transfer to another page, but load something using AJAX, or simply show some kind of hidden block, are underlined with a dotted line.
There is common sense behind this, but I am for the fact that there are also alternative ways.
The main thing is to be intuitive.

Answer 19

The underlining of references would then be better called an imitation of Jakob Nielsen , and not Lebedev. Because, Nielsen was one of the first and most ardent supporters of underlined links. By the way, long before Lebedev.
It seems to me that when you criticize Lebedev, you involuntarily put him on some kind of pedestal, attributing to him what was before him.