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Can't help but think of Dieter Rams design principles. Do those principles apply for websites? I mean they are products in a way.

For this particular website I think the design is obstructing the functionality. "Good design is unobtrusive - Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user’s self-expression."

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That's absolutely spot on! Thanks for bringing that argument up. There's a fine line between aesthetically pleasing but functional and artistically inclined and obscure when it comes to this, and it should really be up to the users' preferences. E.g. GMail got it right from the start: let the user choose their way of doing things. If the user wants 100 rows per screen or 10 rows per screen, who are you to deny the user? :)

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