by Alek Lisefskipage 1 of 6
bluesheepstudios.com

"I'd send him a test and be like 'check this out, it's totally fucked.' and he'd reply 'No way! That's going in! It's the best thing you've ever done!'"

Enter the world of Jordan Stone, the mastermind behind Sofake (www.sofake.com) and in my opinion, the creator of many of the web’s most entertaining and audio-visually striking websites. Unlike most designers, Stone puts the aspect of humor and the creation of a unique, memorable, and enjoyable experience for the viewer atop his list. Stone steers clear of all standards of web design and usability, pushing traditional content and formality to the background, in order to emphasize his own unique design style and sense of humor.

Rarely if ever have I been so thoroughly entertained (often laughing out loud) for a full hour by a single website, and one with minimal content to boot! Whether one likes his style and sense of humor or not, Jordan Stone sets an example as one of web design’s leading innovators. Stone’s striking yet fluid Flash user interfaces incorporate extensive video, audio and animation, which when filled out with the content of his hilarious, often sarcastic or deadpan sense of humor, have created some of the most memorable and flat-out enjoyable sites I have yet encountered on the internet.

Stone seems to effortlessly take his creations beyond the medium by which he is bounded (conventional 2-D web design), bringing the web experience to a new level of wholeness that will outlast the technology (Macromedia Flash) used to create it. The heightened level of interactivity present in his work completes an artist, artwork, viewer loop that creates a real, visceral experience for the viewer, one that entertains and uplifts like no other.

The most professional web design firm in the world!

It is hard to spread happiness and love to others if one is not happy within oneself. It is first and foremost Stone’s attitude towards life and work that sets the stage for such fun and enjoyable work:

"My only philosophy is to do what you want to do. As long as you’re happy at the end of the day, that’s all that should matter. And if you’re any good you’ll make your client happy too. Yay! Remember that everyone reading this is dead in 50 years or so. That’s not that long and nobody gives a fuck anyway. So unless you love it, do something else. "

Stone doesn’t take himself or his work too seriously, as evident by his company’s slogan, "The most professional design firm in the world." "Right from the get go I'm establishing that I'm taking a piss," Stone says, "Still, I see people say all the time 'most professional web design firm in the world! Bullshit!' Haha...there will always be people that 'don't get it.'"

The name of Stone’s company, Sofake, also reflects Stone's playfulness towards his work and his world. "It can mean different things," Stone says, "which makes it good I think….You know, open to interpretation. When I see some television show and Clay Aiken from American Idol sells millions of albums I think, 'this world is so fake'. On another level it's self deprecatory...because really everything I do is fake."

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