Media on Unconventional Solutions in Web Interfaces: Concept, Half-Year Curriculum, and 10 Content Examples
Media Concept
→ What It Is «Pattern Price» is an independent Russian-language media outlet focusing on unconventional solutions in web interfaces. It analyzes websites where creators deliberately deviate from established patterns (hiding menus, replacing navigation with a game, hijacking scroll), and in each review, it answers three questions.→ What Was Gained Which standard solution was deviated from and what the deviation achieved.→ What the Cost Was The cost can take four forms: — for the user (difficulty finding what is needed) — for the business (risk to conversion) — for the team (timelines and maintenance) — for the studio (risk that the client will not approve the decision)→ When It Is Justified Under what conditions the deviation succeeds and when it breaks the user scenario.
For Whom
The priority segment is students and aspiring web designers. They look at many collections of beautiful websites but lack the ability to assess the value of a striking design choice or defend their decisions during a review or before a client.
The other three segments (mid-level designers, design studios, and website clients) are described in the first part of the project and are a secondary focus in the plan—the examples below are written with them in mind.
How It Works
→ Website — the core: depth and interactivity Case study page: comparing the conventional and unconventional approach, pricing card, mini-quiz; a separate page with a checklist→ Telegram Channel — the main source of traffic and community Announcements of case studies, columns like «Found,» «Figures,» «Justified? ,» «Submitted»; comments are open→ vc.ru — reach beyond proprietary channels Once a month, a long-form article inspired by the case studies
Principles
→ Every conclusion must be cited or marked as a «hypothesis» If data is unavailable, we state that. This is what distinguishes media from screenshot compilations based on personal taste.→ We do not sell anything There is no advertising at launch, no courses, no store. Independence is part of our ethos.→ Demos are simplified recreations of the mechanics with a link to the original site, not a copy of someone else’s code.→ Sparring, not teaching The tone is calm and investigative: «here is what is known, and here is what we do not know.»
Goals and Metrics for Six Months
→ Goal By April 30, 2027, to publish 22 case studies and build an audience of aspiring web designers around the website and Telegram channel who utilize the «Pattern Pricing» checklist in their work.
→ Milestones by April 30, 2027 — Website case studies: 22 (a minimum of 15 if traffic increases) — Telegram posts: 70–75 (3 per week, 2 in January) — Telegram subscribers: 300–500 — Post reach: 20–30% of subscribers (competitors average 15–27%, according to LiveDune and public Telegram channel metrics) — Clicks from Telegram to website: at least 10% of announcement views (measured by link tracking) — Mini-quiz after case study: at least half correct answers — Examples submitted by subscribers: at least 10 over six months
All milestones, aside from the competitor data, are working assumptions. We will review them at key checkpoints.
What Has Changed Since Part One
→ Target Horizon Instead of three months (October–December), the plan is built for six months (November 2026 — April 2027): the launch has been shifted to November.→ Volume in the First Three Months Instead of 12 case studies, 10 are planned (November–January): January is the low season and winter session, so we are intentionally reducing the workload then.→ What Has Not Changed The theme, segment, and USP: the price of an unconventional solution, students and beginning web designers, three USPs («transparent pricing, ” „tangible pattern, ” „in Russian and with proof“).
Six-Month Thematic Plan
Plan Logic
→ Three Groups of Topic Boundary Patterns Navigation, the landing page, and the main site structure, as well as conversion elements. A fourth group has been added—scrolling, motion, and accessibility: this is where the «cost» to the user is most visible. Approximately one month is allocated to each group.→ Seasonality via Yandex Wordstat Demand increases in the fall and decreases in the summer. For the query «Jacob’s Law, ” there were 230, 308, and 281 searches per month in October–December 2025, 145 in January 2026, 110 in February, and 44 and 23 in July and August. Therefore, the launch and the most „high-volume“ topics (navigation, landing page) are scheduled for November–December; January will be lighter, and in April, we will prepare materials for seasonal defenses and portfolios.→ Monthly Sequencing: From Simple to Complex First, we cover patterns that any designer knows, followed by niche ones.→ Examples for Analysis We draw from three sources: studio websites and reference collections (Now How, „Visual Techniques“), submissions from subscribers, and our own discoveries. We select specific sites based on two criteria: the deviation has a clear objective, and it can be replicated in a demo.
Weekly Rhythm
→ Tuesday · Website and Telegram New breakdown on the website; an announcement in Telegram (10–15 second video, 2–3 sentences, link); the announcement will feature the results of last Friday’s poll.
→ Thursday · Telegram «Findings» (a discovery in 3–5 sentences) and «Data» (statistics) will be posted alternately; every two weeks, we will post «Submitted» (a breakdown of a follower’s example).
→ Friday · Telegram The poll: «Justified?»
→ Last Thursday of the month · Telegram Monthly Digest: what we covered, and poll outcomes.
→ Once a month · vc.ru Long-form article.
We schedule and select publishing times based on channel statistics: «Visual Techniques» posts go out at the same time, and this consistency is one of the techniques we employ.
Monthly Schedule
By November 1st: Preparation
— Launch a Telegram channel, pin a post (explaining the channel’s purpose, and including a link to the checklist), and add a description. — Upload the «Pattern Price» checklist (sample 7) to the website. — Prepare two backup case studies in case November doesn’t get off to a strong start in the first week.November. Navigation
Launch, Peak Season→ Analyses (4) 1. Desktop menu with an icon (Example 1) 2. Navigation game: a website users «navigate» (Example 2) 3. Full-screen menu: aesthetically pleasing, but how many clicks to reach the goal? 4. Non-standard menu placement: side, bottom, or corner of the screen→ Other Tasks — Telegram: launching new segments; «Statistics» post based on Wordstat data (Example 4); first survey «Is it justified?» (Example 6) — vc.ru: long-read «Jakob’s Law: when is it okay to break it» (Example 9)→ Monthly Goal To verify that the «win—price—conditions» format is clear to the reader. Control question in the channel: «What was unclear in the analysis?»December: Homepage Design and Structure
→ Reviews (4) 1. Giant typography instead of an image on the landing page 2. Landing page without a call-to-action button 3. Video and animation on the landing page: the value of speed and attention 4. «Quirky» homepage: non-standard block order→ Other Items — «Discoveries» featuring Awwwards jury ratings (5 examples), video teasers inspired by example 8 — Year-end summary on December 30–31: a digest of reviews and a poll asking what topics to cover in 2027→ Goal for the Month To gather initial feedback and determine which sections are most popular with readersJanuary. A Lighter Month
Low Season, Exam Period→ Breakdowns (2) 1. Custom cursor as a UI element 2. The page with no «end»: infinite scrolling and websites without a footer→ Other Items — Digest: «5 Breakdowns You Might Have Missed» from the archive — Two «Submitted» posts: analysis of provided examples — Preparation for an expert interview (question list, interviewee search)→ Monthly Goal To maintain momentum during reduced workload and build up a reserve of breakdowns for FebruaryFebruary. Conversion Elements
→ Case Studies (4) 1. Form as Dialogue: One Question Per Screen 2. A Button That Doesn’t Look Like a Button 3. Non-Standard Cart and Checkout in Niche Stores 4. Price Upon Request and Non-Standard Price Presentation→ Other — First interview with a practitioner (Art Director or Product Designer): The question, «What does a studio lose when it deviates from the standard?» — Copy for clients (10 examples): Segment 4 is testing interest→ Monthly Goal To test the pricing hypothesis for businesses and studios, data on which is not yet publicly available.March: Scrolling, Motion, and Accessibility
→ Deep Dives (4) 1. Scroll Interception (Example 3) 2. Horizontal Scrolling 3. Parallax and Animations: How to Disable Them for Users Who Are Harmed By Them 4. Preloaders: Beautiful Waiting→ Other Topics — A series of short posts on how a website behaves without a mouse, on a phone, and with the «reduce motion» setting enabled — Second interview with a practitioner→ Monthly Goal To illustrate the «cost to the user» that is invisible in conversion metricsApril. Review and Presentation of Projects
→ Deep Dives (4)
- Anti-Design and Brutalism in Websites: Intentional Edge or Chaos?
- «Websites are Becoming Identical»: The Homogenization Effect of Templates and AI. Sources here must be re-verified before publishing.
- How to Defend an Non-Standard Solution in a Portfolio and During Reviews
- Final Review: The «Pattern Price» Checklist v2.0 summarizing the first six months
→ Other Topics — Six-month channel summary: metrics, best and weakest materials, future plans
→ Monthly Goal Consolidate accumulated knowledge into an updated checklist and formalize it as the site’s main, permanent resource.
Backup Topics
In case you run out of time or can’t find an example: — sliders and carousels: who actually swipes them — characterful 404 pages — the site footer as the main screen — unconventional site search — a dark mode as a departure from the familiar — a header that disappears upon scrolling
Checkpoints and Risks
