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The Turtle is
now a classy web designer, a polished professional with a very sleek
commercial web site. And yet she continues to let us peek under her
shell and examine the charming person underneath. I particularly
enjoyed her thoughts on the Grinch in her personal section.
[Revisited 9 December 1996]
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Kimberly is the Frogfrau, and her domain contains some of the most charming examples of Flash animation I've ever seen. She also shares some interesting stories with us, but, as with most of the Designing Women, the real highlight is the art. Be sure to check out the Images in her personal section; they're just stunning. [9 December 1998; Self-nomination]
Danielle's Design Shrine is the first web page I've ever seen that has church metaphor - quite surprising considering some of her site content. Her friends the Catholics would most likely not approve :-). But my overwhelming impression upon viewing the site is slick, smooth beauty, flowing expertise in the world of graphic arts. Too bad she cheaped out on the hosting; this type of slickness is seriously damaged by a GeoCities logo and all those horrid banner ads. One quick warning: Do not close her console; you will need it to access a part of the site completely separate from the "Church" part. [11 December 1998; Glassdog]
Laika is flying to the moon with her truly gorgeous original art and design. She is superb at showing us the beauty of flowers and natural textures. She also has some very nice free buttons and backgrounds for us to borrow. [11 May 1998; self-nomination]
Kristen Ankiewicz didn't have to worry about her domain name being taken, that's for sure. Fortunately for us, she doesn't rest on her laurels. There is absolutely stunning, oustanding photography here. From the beauty of the tropics to the eccentricity of her abstract paintings, everything looks crisply perfect and alive. This is one of those pages that makes maintaining Wonderful Women worthwhile. If I'm lucky, I'll even learn how to spell her name. [22 October 1997]
Nina looks like yet another artist, with yet another pretty design for her pages. And when I wandered through some of them, I almost tripped over the giant construction crane she had revolving, revolving all around me. But in her angst section, she shows herself to be surprisingly like me, with similar frustrations, hopes and dreams. May she achieve them all. [28 August 1997; self-nomination]
Renee has some stunning eye-candy for us to munch on. Don't miss her graphic design pages; click on the art and what you see will impress you. Alas, her personal page tells us more about her role-playing characters than herself. [24 December 1997]
Wow. Of all the graphic designer pages I've ever seen, Adrienne's is by far the most stunning. As a special bonus, it loaded really quickly for a graphically intense page; she seems to have gone to a lot of effort to shrink her images to make them more socially acceptable to those with slow links. A real tour de force; be sure to check out the "Graphic Novel", especially if you're into the Cyberpunk genre. [DJ via Sage; 12 October 1995]
Lynda has some charming paintings and watercolours of her beloved Fire Island to share with us. I especially liked the postcards you could send people - this is one of the few postcard sites I know of that doesn't have some commercial ulterior motive. There's also a great collection of Dorothy Parker quotes. Sample: "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown aside with great force." Finally, don't forget the rules she has for a better relationship. [17 July 1997; Beth]
Lynda has written an excellent - and beautifully produced - book on graphics for the web. It's aimed at the professional artist, but is so sumptuously put together you'll find it hard to resist. I will admit that this one bends my rules about not including strictly commercial sites, but I've enjoyed her book and my conversations with her a great deal, so she's Wonderful in my book. Gosh, a pun! [The Net magazine; 9 February 1996]
Annie was closer to her soul back then, she feels like the rush and bustle of her professional career has made her lose something very special. She writes that beautifully, and then stops, making me wonder what's next. Perhaps becoming a Microsoft Solution Provider® crushes the soul and staring at Internet Explorer all day does the rest. Perhaps I should rush on over with a copy of Netscape and see if it helps? I hope it does, since I see a girl I'd love to know better in there somewhere. [14 May 1998; self-nomination]
Sunflower loves flowers, and she uses them in the most imaginative ways in her art. This page is one of the few really great applications of JavaScript I've seen. Be sure to come with Netscape 3.0 or better. [24 December 1997; self-nomination]
Hurry! Rush! Clang! Not enough for us? Marsha reminds us that there is something more to life, that we should retreat into gentleness, with her carefully selected garden of beautiful art. [24 December 1997]
Jennifer Erts has a beautiful site showcasing her work, but she really captured my heart when she talked about making love to her scanner. I tried that once, and it still didn't do a very good job scanning my images <laugh>. I really like this site because she has a personal section that actually tells us something about the girl hiding behind the beautiful images. [1 May 1997; web design mailing list]
Ann-S-Thesia has some gorgeous free art to share with us, as well as her observations on life, love, children and the art world. Her viewpoints are controversial and laced with bitterness I find all too common nowadays; despite that, or perhaps because of it, her artwork - both free and non-free - is stunning. [11 September 1997; nominated by a friend]
Amber's lovely home was dismantled by the Big Bad Wolf who huffed and puffed and blew her house down. That's a great pity, because it was a lovely home when it lasted. You could have enjoyed a bunch of surprises as you checked out her junk mail, peered in her closet, and made a delicious apple pie. But it's all gone now, but for a few charming remnants of free art and backgrounds. If you've been a fan of her page and want to help her in this time of crisis, please drop her a line of encouragement. If you'd like to see one of the sites she's designed, check out The Gourmet Coffee Club [First added 27 May 1996; this update 15 September 1996]
It's just another typical graphic designer's page. You know, the black background, the white text, the spare look. But wait! Denise actually has content along with her designer look! Her BodyWorks section contains some fetching nudes, and her mindscapes are paintings that give us a glimpse into her thoughts and feelings. It's really nice seeing a graphic designer on the web who isn't afraid to express her personal thoughts and feelings. [23 June 1996; self-nomination]
Meet Lulu the Trained Spider in syne web a creative and colourful place where she shows off her writings and muses on her deep, dark SF-fan past. [5 October 1996; Women Web Weavers]
Kia is a gorgeous girl, a talented artist whose photographs share some tantalizing snippets of her soul, and just enough traces of humour to make her real. [5 June 1996; nominated by an admirer].
Tara Maginnis has an intriguing obsession: The creation of costumes for the theater and movies. In pursuit of this, she's created a splendid "Costumer's Manifesto" consisting of advice and information on how to be creative. There are some excellent tips here, so check out this site even if costumes themselves don't appeal to you. [Egotistical Site of the Day; 31 December 1996]
Sue has a stunning page of her artworks to show us. Her images are complex, gorgeous, and filled with colour. If you look really closely, you can find the story of how she had a wasp named after her, which I thought was great fun. But be warned: It's a bit of a challenge to find. [5 September 1996; Personalseek]
Auriea Harvey presents entropy8.com, her radical experiment in web page design and navigation. This site is beautifully slick, innovative and pushes all the right buttons. If only I could figure out what she had to say, I'd really think this site was a winner, worthy of being on the very top of this list. But I can't, so I leave baffled, confused, and wondering how I should rate it. Not including it was out of the question; the visual show is just too spectacular to ignore. So has she succeeded or failed? I'm not sure. You tell me! [30 June 1996; Web Design mailing list]
Tera is addicted to Tole, which is a form of painting by pattern that can produce some gorgeously sleek results. If you're interested in Tole or just want to know what it is, this is a graphically stunning site. She and her husband also run a web design company with some impressive credits. [14 August 1996; self-nomination]
Sarah Monken has a beautifully done page that features some of the best GIF animations I've ever seen (check out her under construction "Things I like" page for a magnificent animated beetle), as well as some gorgeous paintings. "You are not an artist until you die; until then you are merely an art student," she says in her page. Like most people on the web, she's looking for a job; hopefully someone looking for an engagingly arty girl in Boston, Massachusetts will take her under her or his wing. As always with the Designing Women, though, I wish there was more about her on the page; hopefully the completion of the promising "Things I Like" pages will fix that right up. [greyrose IRC friends page; 23 April 1996]
Crystal Waters was desperate for a domain name, so she decided to become a typographical error. Oddly enough, I haven't managed to find any on her pages. Perhaps she should work harder? <laugh>. Her page contains some hilarious essays on designing and reviewing web pages, which she does for The Net magazine. Interesting stuff, put together with charm and flair. [Lynda; 9 February 1996].
Amnesia has an unforgettable web page, including her encounter with Arnold, a bunch of interesting galleries and a really sleek look. I particularly liked the peek in the gunmetal grey background trick. [4 August 1996; Inteport user pages]
Annalisa Oswald creates a beautiful mood in her web page, using lyrical prose and coloured type. Like many designer pages, what she has is a bit hard for a verbal guy like me to describe, but it's assuredly delicious eye candy. [29 December 1996; nominated by a friend]
Kashie has a nice, fresh classy design on her page, and has founded the Union Of Young Web Designers to advance the practitioners of her craft. So I added myself, thinking that at 34 I was surely young enough. Imagine my surprise when I discovered she's only 15! I'd thought for sure she was in her 20s or thereabouts. Anyway, I think she has some interesting ideas, and I enjoyed reading her humourous pieces, such as her Modern Art Museum. Hopefully, as she says, it will save a few people from the $ 10 glass of water. [LinkExchange; 29 June 1996]
Plucky Susan Forman, an artist and stripper, got her page of photographs and essays on stripping censored from her site. "Possible indecency problems," her provider sniffed. So what's a girl to do? Why show off her intriguing photo montages, of course! Poison Arrow Frogs Invade Backyard Pools, indeed. And to think that's considered less dangerous than a little fun nudity? Our world has indeed come to a pretty pass. If you want to find her sexy as all get-out nude work, be sure to visit the alt.sex.exhibitionism newsgroup where I've seen her showing off quite entertainingly. [5 April 1996]
Wendy loves the beach, particularly Newport Beach, and spends much of her time designing cute custom avatars for Worlds Chat. She's done some really neat things; I was impressed by her talent. I thought her "Beach Girl" avatar was particularly attractive - sexy without being naughty - and she must agree with me since it's the one she wears. If you're interested in the future of design for three-dimensional chat, you should visit her. Alas, like most of the Designing Women, Wendy speaks in pictures, not in words; I wish I knew more about her. But her avatars are beautifully done, and we'll have to settle for that. [22 June 1996; nominated by her boyfriend]
Susan Brewer presents her Self-Portrait series, an often disturbing group of images that represent "my self-exploration over the past four years". Dark, and compelling. [25 February 1996].
Carol McCullough created some neat little sculptures featuring Barbie in exotic poses and costumes. And she almost got killed for them. This site features pictures of the Barbie art, so you can see what caused the rucus, and her thoughts on censorship. Remember, it's not hard-core porn that winds up being censored; it's artistic pieces like this. Why? Because people pay lots of money for hard-core porn. Her site also features some interesting alternative holiday traditions, together with her own designs to celebrate them. [7 April 1996]
Marcy Burtz presents Burtz Virtual Atelier, an electronic zine filled with her thoughts about design, Mozilla and the 13-month year. [Self-nomination; 30 December 1995].
You really have to admire the beautiful backgrounds on Simona's Web House, aka M.A.D.a Lisa. They are simply gorgeous, and I like her cheerful attitude. Apparently she doesn't let all that beauty go to her head. In a new development, she's also offering free webspace for intriguing, fun projects, so if you have an intriguing artistic creation without a home, be sure to look her up. [9 December 1995].
Sherry Miller has some really gorgeous paintings and quilts to share with us. She also has some intriguing columns, where she embraces the cutting edge without getting stabbed. [Babes; 23 November 1995]
Lynn Kyle explores her new home in the sticks, shows off some neat ray tracings and does the "squat", a humourous backwoods takeoff on a more glamourous net site. Lynn is not a designer for hire like the others in this category, but she should be; the main appeal of her pages to me is her gloriously sumptuous graphics. Note that she very generously provided the beautiful Christmas lights at the top of this page. [5 December 1995; self-nomination].
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Haidi's Page has to be one
of the most confusing sites I've ever seen, and yet she obviously put
a tremendous amount of work into it. Lots of really neat but slow to
load graphics combine with some intriguing rants. I think she wants
to do an image map but can't quite figure out how to get it to work.
Join the club! [Self-nomination; 9 January 1996]
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Sabina presents Valentine, a rather incomprehensible zine-like creation. I can't make head nor tail of it, but it's such a clever looking creative effort that I'm including it anyway. [31 March 1996; thing.net personal pages].
Marsha Heatwhole shows off her unique African artwork. I wish this page was a shade less commercial, but I really enjoyed both her pictures and the warm empathy she has for her subjects. [Self-nomination, 8 December 1995].
The Magical Underwater Kingdom of Zooop has a clever fishy flavour; our heroine uses cute pastel pictures of fish to represent herself. I love the fish illustrations, but I sure wish there was *something* about the authoress on her site; like many of these designing women, it would be great if we learned more about them as well as their art. [12 November 1995; Worst of the Web].
H stands for Not Heather, the Web Princess. Check out her wacky alternative seasonal greetings in her Way Cool section. She also has a charming picture of herself and some interesting web creation tips in her FAQ. [28 October 1995]
Nancy Peacock should be proud as her last name of her charming illustrations of jazz musicians. [Adrienne]
Chelle's Cozy Corner is a beautiful site, but I wouldn't call it cozy. It has all the feel of a slick commercial production, not a personal home page. Gorgeous art combines with a winsome personality and a staggering array of interests to put together a wonderful web world. The only problem with it is the nagging feeling that we've been exposed to a slick and smooth art show without hearing much about its creator. Or maybe I just clicked on the wrong boxes; this place is big. [Susan Dennis]
Eliza is an Italian designer who's brought some of the best of the old world to the new. I like the very clean look she's given her pages. [25 November 1995; Yahoo].
Gabrielle Fariello has a charmingly self-depreciating attitude and a neat gallery of 20th century woman artists, sorted in various ways. I found the gallery well worth checking out. [25 November 1995; Yahoo]
If you like pretty pictures, you'll love Michelle Morin and her exceptionally pretty site. Might be a little slow for the 14.4kbpsers in the audience, though. [Babes]
Melanie is a talented artist and HTML designer with some really fun images. [Babes]
Michelle Barfoot, Computer Artist explores 3D space and shows us her cool computer creations. [Netaxs user pages; 28 January 1996]
Marina Zurkow is an artist and graphic designer with a flair for the grotesque. Squeamish people (like me!) probably shouldn't enter this site, but there's enough talent there for me to want to recognize it. [Babes]
Sorel presents unusual personalities, odd friends, secret fetishes and serious thoughts. To tell the truth, the content doesn't live up to her titles, but the whole thing looks so neat that I had to include it. I'd really love to see more stuff about her, since there's almost nothing. But she's created a chic-look page that's still quick to load, and THAT's a real compliment.
Visit the Batwoman in her Batcave, home of Amanda K Wolf, graphic designer. Some really clever images, but come prepared with a high-speed connection.
Liliko's Electric Saloon and Junkyard are fun places you can visit to play with art and check out information on Tokyo nightclubs. [Revisited 3 January 1996]
Kristen massages her ego and gives us advice about bitter truths. [9 November 1995].
Stormy is a cat lover who has some really neat, friendly graphics. This site feels like home, especially after checking out the commercial slickness of some of the other designer pages. However, it has distressingly little about its creator. Pity, since I have a feeling she'd be someone worth knowing. [Billigan; 5 November 1995]
Christine Meirhofer has
absolutely nothing about herself on her page at all, but I can't
resist her creative idea: "Order a Theft". You send a picture of your
apartment to her and select one of the old masters stolen from an Athens
gallery. Then she uses an image manipulation program to insert the
old master into your apartment, so it seems that you have possession of
a multi-million dollar painting in your home. Pity you'd have to return
it 
. [31 March 1996].
The Designing Women have been accessed times since I reorganized this page on 22:42:21 23 February 1996.