UT.no is a soon to be released portal for hikers and other nature lovers.  The genius responsible for their graphic design has incorporated a (hand drawn!) trekking map into the background. It may be the most appropriate and well executed tiled background I have ever seen.

At DeleteLondon.com, a set of randomized backgrounds add another dimension to the user experience. Many of the backgrounds I’ve seen while refreshing the site frantically look very good, too.

The wooden texture is used as a background in many websites. Because it works. CarlCartee.com is a well executed example.

Another example of a wooden texture background. At Outlaw Design Blog, it’s more than just a background.

At Snook.ca, curls are a key design element, being used in the header and footer as well as the subtle but beautiful background image.

A concrete wall background at Bridge55.com.

The background at Colour Pixel consists of, well, coloured pixels. Simple and brilliant.

Pixels are the theme of the background at Frenzy Labs as well.

Cardboard texture – Another appropriate background image seen at Carbonica.org.

Part abstract, part grunge style stains, part wallpaper, the background at Bright Creative seems to be many things. It most certainly is beautiful and decorative.

The subtle blue ornaments in the background at Enlighten Designs almost look like water.

Matt Mullenweg‘s site is an orgie of ridiculously good looking design elements, one of which is a grunge style splatter background.

The background at Design Sponge is some kind of fabric texture. Simple, subtle and neat.

Another example of a tiled background made from fabric texture at Youandigraphics.com.

Mosaic tiles make up the background at Stroybass.com. The gradient is also a nice touch that underlines the effect of being under water, like in their pools.

While researching for this article, I found that quite a few of the big beer websites have some very annoying features. Many of them are so called interactive presentations entirely built in flash, they take a long time to load, and demand you type your date of birth before allowing you to enter. I don’t know how that’s going to keep underage visitors out, but it will certainly piss some older visitors off. The Corona website never finished loading. Guinness wouldn’t let me in at all despite the fact that I’m 28 (and a half!) years old. In stead, they redirected me to The Century Council, an organization dedicated to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking. Are they trying to insult me?

Fortunately, not all beer related websites are utter crap. Check out these 5 good looking counterparts.