pass the relish

We here at Relish spend our days toiling in the vast world of the interwebs so I’m sure you’ll be shocked to hear that we also spend much of our downtime trolling the web as well. Being immersed in all things digital, we like to give props to those who have successfully executed cool sites or apps. Here’s a list of our favourites from 2010 (in no particular order): 

Online

1. Ride the City – This site lets you plan your biking route and allows you to choose from the most direct to the safest route.  It also lists bike lanes, protected lanes, and greenways and can help you find the closest bike shop, bike rental, or bike share.
2. Hipmunk – Anyone who has searched for a flight knows how awful travel websites can be. Sometimes the user experience is so offensive, we leave without even looking at the deals. However, Hipmunk shows the competition how it’s done with its clean design, intuitive user experience, comparison of different airline prices in a pretty graph, and ability to sort by price, stops, and “agony.”  The cheapest price is always highlighted in blue; a nice touch.
3. Tourfilter - A Craiglist-ish site that shows listings for 79 major cities automatically compiled by some kind of bot and administered by (as far as we know) just one guy.  Super useful.
4. OpenIDEO – “solving problems together, for the collective social good” - How are you making the world a better place? Not everyone can rely on their good looks being enough of a gift to the world like we can. For those of you that need another outlet, OpenIDEO provides a forum for anyone to submit questions (or challenges) for the community as a whole to contribute inspiration, ideas, creativity and solutions to “solve problems for the collective social good.” Impressive.
5. OpeAppMkt - An alternate app store for iPhone/iPad/Android of browser-based apps that sometimes works better than their native counterparts…exhibit A: YouTube for the iPhone.
6. Saturdays - Clean and simple, no-nonsense design gives us what we want up front. The brand is represented perfectly and those of us who in to are fashion want to buy everything.
7. Net-a-Porter - For women who appreciate fashion, the best online window shopping is done here. Based out of NYC, Net-a-Porter has grown beyond just a website, into a full-fledged multinational corporation operating across two continents.  Beautifully curated, the merchandise options are updated multiple times a week.
8. Grooveshark -Similar to Jango and Last.fm, Grooveshark lets you create your custom radio ‘stations’ and stream songs from different bands based on your taste. What’s great about Grooveshark is that you can search and select your own songs  and then manage them via a very user-friendly playlist.
9. Airbnb - A site that allows users to list or search rentals listed by nightly rate. It has a beautifully clean user interface and displays price, photos, maps, street view, availability, user reviews, amenities, and similar properties. This is an ideal site for travellers or those looking to gain a bit of extra $ by renting out their space for short periods of time.
10. 20 Things I Learned – Basic web 101 articulated in a way that won’t make you feel like an idiot. The internet is a complex thing sometimes; it can be confusing and scary for some. What we do sometimes eludes our friends, family, clients, and occasionally even us- so we happily welcome sites like this that break down the basics in a swift, 20 page, interactive storybook. Using snappy metaphors, clear language, and cute cartoons, this site finds a way to make even the most daunting topics easy to understand. We have printed it and given it to our moms.

1. Trainyard – made by our good friend Matt Rix, a delicious puzzle
2. Osmosis – fun and beautiful
3. TO Parking – handy
4. Instagram – extremely handy (especially if you take photos of asian girls and cats)
5. Astronut – fun and beautiful
6. Wallet – handy
7. Ride the city – handy, see website above
8. Mint – handy
9. Infinity Blade – incredible graphics and unique gameplay