The Good, The Bad, The Poorly Designed (Part I)

The Best of The Worst

The Visual Arts League

Ten years ago - yes, a decade - The Visual Arts League was listed as one of the worst websites on webpagesthatsuck. Interestingly, and as the moderator notes, The Visual Arts League site is dedicated to VISUAL ART. One would understandably expect that such a site would be, well, visually artistic. So far removed from anything artistic, this site sets the bar for best worst art sites.

Why I Hate It:

Let's begin with the (slightly creepy) photos of two women submerged in a body of water, with only their heads above water and staring coquettishly at you as though you've dropped in on them unexpectedly. Not the first thing I expect to see when logging on to a Visual Art site. Personally, I'd prefer they save the vacation photos for family and friends who are obligated either by relationship or moral niceties to smile through the vacation slideshow as they regale you with tales of skinny dipping in Mexico.

Next, the feeling of claustrophobia. As soon as you're able to concretely focus on something (besides the bathing beauties)  you notice that, while not necessarily hoarder worthy, the content of the site is poorly organized and leaves the distinct impression that you're standing in the cluttered living room of a grandmother who spends her weekends at the local yard sales and proudly displays each and every purchase throughout her home. Time for a POD and a storage unit, let's clean this place up!

Finally, the dated information. Some items cited on the main page are nearly a decade old leaving one to wonder whether the site is truly active. In fact, after several dead links, I thought perhaps the site creator/designer had given up years ago and the domain name was simply still active. This, unfortunately, is not the case. With a last update date of June 6 2015, I am grieved to say this site is still actively maintained.

After some research I found that the site owner, Mrs. Judy Wray, is nearing her 70th birthday which signals to me that perhaps she is not the mastermind behind this cringe worthy site (though she certainly could be). For my fellow "seeing is believing" skeptics, I have listed the screen shot from the 2005 site along with today's version to prove that yes, it really is that bad. 

2005 Site: Visual Arts League circa 2005

2015 Site:  Visual Arts League circa 2015