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Just because I laugh, does that make it good?
"Let people decide what is good and what makes them smile."
Several
themes become quite evident when taking these three sites into consideration.
Stone's work appeals to a certain more liberal, explorative audience,
and is created to achieve a certain effect. If one visits Mahon's
site to quickly find the photographer's phone number, he or she
will likely be visibly upset and angry, possible even shouting obscenities
at their computer monitor and cursing Jordan Stone to a life of
indescribable suffering after ten 
minutes
of odd images and goofy videos whiz by their screen. To put it simply,
Stone does not create his work to provide easy access to information
(as most web sites try to do). What is more important to Stone is
that they are fun and enjoyable. "I hope some of my work is
funny," Stone says, "So much out there is a wee bit too
serious. Life isn't like that. That's why humorless movies appall
me. I know I don't live in a world where everyone is so serious
all the time and moping around." Though it seems simple, to
create joy is a powerful goal.
All of Stone's work provides a unique experience to the viewer. Each of the three sites discussed becomes much more than a projection of pixels on a flat computer monitor. With the elements of depth, consistent imagery and space, strong interactivity and user control, and fluid camera movement, Stone mimics reality, or more accurately, creates his own reality for the viewer to enter into. This is Stone's main concern when building a site:
"I'm
normally just trying to get the 'website' to feel like a 'place'.
The best compliment I can get is overhearing someone say 'well you
just go deeper to find it' or 'you just have to walk over there,
to see what I’m talking about'… as opposed to 'press
the information button for more information'. And I’m not
talking about being difficult and making things hard to find. I’m
just trying to place you into a construct, and have you feel like
you can move around it easily. If I can tie it into a metaphor,
all the better…. but at the end of the day it doesn't matter
if no one gets a strong visceral feeling from 'moving' around the
site."
His worlds are sometimes odd, and like real life, many surprises
exist within them, but for many they are likely
more fun and enjoyable than the world in which we live. I think
that is the point Stone is trying to make. In a design world where
corporate seriousness, visual mediocrity, and standards of usability
rule, Stone is creating nothing but fun, funny, and a step or two
away from the ordinary.
Throughout each work is a strong visual and verbal narrative that furthers the suspension of disbelief that draws viewers into his creations. In billyharveymusic.com not only does talking Billy (video) accomplish this, but as one walks deeper into Billy’s house, each assembled Polaroid image Ads a new scene to the story that is the website, and strengthens the mood and feeling that Stone has created for the viewer, however superficial that may be. We almost forget that Billy Harvey is a real person when we see paper Billy and his cut out paper friends sitting on a paper sofa, drinking paper bottles of beer.
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