why Japan's internet is weirdly designed
Answer in Progress・14 minutes read
Japanese web design differs from global trends due to early smartphone adoption, leading to a unique, dense, and brightly colored aesthetic influenced by outdated technology and a focus on profit over mobile-friendly design practices. This shift was driven by the evolution of search engine ranking algorithms to combat keyword spamming and paid link manipulation, emphasizing the importance of references for visibility.
Insights
- Japanese web design stands out for its brightly colored and dense aesthetic, diverging from global minimalist trends, influenced by early smartphone adoption and outdated technology.
- The evolution of Japanese web design was shaped by search engine ranking practices, moving from keyword spamming to valuing references, which led to unique design features and a focus on technology as a primary factor in web aesthetics.
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Recent questions
What is the unique design style of Japanese websites?
Colorful, dense, and divergent from minimalist trends.
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Summary
00:00
"Exploring Japan's Unique Web Design Style"
- Japanese websites have a unique design style that differs from the minimalist trend seen in other countries.
- The creator questions the validity of a theory about Japanese web design and decides to investigate using AI.
- The creator sets up a website to document a project and notices the minimalist themes available.
- The creator wonders about the uniqueness of Japanese web design and decides to test the theory.
- The creator asks for input from people in Asia regarding internet usage over the past 5 to 10 years.
- The creator categorizes websites based on content and discovers a variety of websites, including explicit and illegal ones.
- The creator uses a web crawler and VPN to access websites for screenshots, facing challenges with cookie popups.
- The creator uses machine learning to analyze website screenshots and compare design features.
- The AI organizes websites into clusters, with Japan standing out for its brightly colored and dense web design.
- The creator explores potential reasons for Japan's unique web design, including characters, culture, and technology, ultimately focusing on technology as the primary factor.
12:14
Evolution of Search Engine Ranking and Web Design
- Search engines initially ranked websites based on keyword spamming, leading to a shift towards valuing references from other websites. Companies then began paying for random website links to boost search rankings, prompting search engines to evolve and enforce stricter rules on web design for better visibility.
- The divergence in Japanese web design from the global trend can be attributed to their early adoption of smartphones, which necessitated simplifying navigation and content due to limited data plans and small screens. Japan's advanced smartphone technology and domestic market profitability led to a delay in adapting to mobile-friendly design practices, resulting in a unique web aesthetic shaped by their relationship with outdated technology.
