Web design may have gone quiet since the heady dotcom days, but creative and technological innovations are still driving the scene forward. Digit found out how to keep the jaded surfer hooked.

border=0 /><BR></div> </p> <p> The school of Web design suffered a hard knock when the dotcom boom imploded, but there are clear signs of recovery. Koi Carp pools in the office may be a distant memory of the excesses of the turn of the century, but innovation in online design is still going strong. </p> <p> It’s increasingly difficult to impress an ever-more Web-savvy audience, but creative solutions are being sought to wow the online community. </p> <p> “There is a current polarization between simplicity and complexity in online design,” says Josh On, collaborator with new media agency Futurefarmers and creator of online research tool They Rule. </p> <p> “On the one hand you have companies striving to emulate Google’s minimalist functionality, and on the other hand there is the pull for very rich television-like experiential motion graphics that convey mood and atmosphere.” </p> <p> The growth of broadband will bring changes in the way people consume Web content. “In 2006, broadband will come of age and with it, a new way of designing for the Web is needed,” says Christian Ruland, creative director of Red Bee Media. </p> <p> “We as designers have the opportunity to include more rich media elements, and video that engages the audience, keeps them at a Web site, and exposes them to the communication messages we want to bring across. </p> <p> “Broadband will create a new type of user experience, which will be more televisual. New rules in building these experiences will evolve, but content will always be key.” </p> <p> <h2>Tell us a story</h2> </p> <p> <div class=inlineimage><img src= Print

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