Track(s):
Site Building, UX / Design
Audience:
All

In response to the incredibly rapid homogenization of the internet thanks to frameworks like Bootstrap and tools like React, there has been an increasing amount of interest and work being done to "re-wild" the internet, to make it weird and fun (again). From interactive sites built around poems and short stories to community-focused projects built on closed membership and hyperlinking, there is a new breed of web designer and developer (usually one person) building websites and networks by hand. After a decade (or so) where the biggest players on the internet have been focused on "growth", these creators, projects, and tools are rejecting the idea that "scale" is the most important thing. Instead, they are making experiences that are delightful, delicate, and human-scaled.

For this presentation I'll show some projects (from folks like The School for Poetic Computation, Chia Amisole and cunning folk) and tools (htmx, Are.na) that are emblematic of this new (old?) movement in web design, development, and community.