So I just read this interesting post over at Scobleizer (a Microsoft blogger). The thing I notice about all of these “ugly” sites is they tend to use Times New Roman for the font. Maybe that alone communicates the sort of trust and simple personality people want. One person on the Scobleizer site commented that these designs look “humble and almost anticommercial looking” — I would agree. The trouble is I think someone needs to step up and show these companies that there can be a healthy balance between effective and simple.