Backgrounds are so called for a reason. They’re meant to support and complement instead of attract and distract. This week’s featured sites, however, provide a whole other level of interactivity and usefulness to backgrounds. You decide if they’re a good idea or not. Either way, they’re interesting concepts that can only be executed on the Web, so, enjoy!

This week on Friday Focus, we celebrate great icon design which carries the overall look of our featured websites.

Typography on the Web is growing bigger and bigger—literally! That is this week’s theme on Friday Focus.

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas celebration! This Friday we’re going to look at whimsical, chaotic, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink headers that will certainly grab your attention.

Happy free 7-11 Slurpy day! Happy iPhone 3G day! Let’s celebrate with some sleek websites this week. They’re mostly blue, gray, blue-gray—that seemingly drab section of the spectrum actually manages to turn up excellent designs, so don’t shun it just yet! Oh, and we have a ton of examples this time, so brace yourself!

Here’s a larger-than-usual Friday Focus for this week, featuring simple yet beautiful designs that just work. Four site types (blog, portfolio, static, e-commerce) that do a standout job of making an impression.

I don’t know if I am a fan of minimalism because I picked out these websites. But I like to appreciate designs that stand out not because they’re loud and proud, but because they’re calm and clear. Silent waters run deep, they say. I like to think restraint is more powerful than the lack of it, especially in design.