Soulbath.com was created by Hi, Res!, a creative consultancy and design studio founded by Florian Schmitt and Alexandra Jugovic in 1995. They formed the company while still in Art school for both fine arts and product design. In 1999, they moved to London and were joined by musician, Clifford Gilberto. At first look, the purpose of this site is unclear. The explain, "People . . . admired the site but weren't quite sure what it was. An art site, a net poem (as one person suggested) or an 'enjoying pastime for slackers on a Friday afternoon . . .?'" (1). It is, in fact, an experimental website exhibiting anti-banners. The goal of this website is an attempt to create intriguing and aesthetically pleasing banners that do not sell any products. The goal is to find and portray the beauty of the banal and the commonly overlooked. Since the beginning, High-Res! has been on a completely different level than other Internet design companies. They resist consumer culture through a variety of tactics: pushing the web to its technical and artistic limits; attempting to bridge the gap between the digital medium and the real world; and creating experiences rather than passive viewings. They have been recognized for their unique work on websites such as www.thethirdplace.com, www.requiemforadream.com, and www.dieselstylelab.com. Their work has such a distinctive feel to it because they manage to create a three-dimensional experience in a two-dimensional setting.

Soulbath.com is created using six different tones of grey. The usage of such simple colors generates a calming and minimalist effect on the viewer. This feel is also exhibited through the linear progression of the various pages of the website. The site manages to become slick in its lack of slickness. The website is designed with negligible amounts of ASCII graphics, and almost completely by Flash, which creates the bridge between the three-dimensional and the two-dimensional worlds.

"Old-school" graphics

Hi, Res! was greatly influenced by 1960s computer art and by the digital interface developments of the previous thirty years. The low-tech graphics that are used in the site generate a "retro" feel through the plain fonts, simple games, and grey color scheme. This has another dimension, however; all of the interfaces are very slick, but when interacting with any of the various games offered on the website, the viewers are taken back to their childhood with such games as etch-a-sketch, low-tech videogames; and skateboarding.

Upon first entry to the website, the viewer is asked to choose between two different routes: "C" for "Clickhere" and "S" for "Soulbath." Soulbath encompasses the "Clickhere" exhibition. The consequent navigation of the website is a controlled experience through a limited series of options. If, in fact, one attempts to disobey the options, a window will appear stating, "sorry. That was actually a rhetorical question" (2).

Clicking "C" for "Clickhere" takes the viewer to a window that states, "The banner is the enemy. The banner is your friend" (3); and is followed by an article from "the Independent" commenting on the uselessness of banners and the lack of attention paid to them by the typical web user. Consequently, a page is opened with an architectural layout consisting of five different levels. By clicking on each of the walls of each of the five levels, the viewer is taken to another page that displays banners created by various artists. The most important aspect of these colorful and somewhat flashy banners is that they are not selling any products nor are they necessarily marketing any products.

Clicking "S" for "soulbath" engages the viewer in an "interactive game." In reality, this is far from any game with which we are familiar - we are the puppets of a carefully engineered mind game. The outcome of this game is always the same because the options we are given are not as broad and open-ended as they seem. It is interesting to note that since the games are hidden beneath many links, far from the main part of the site, it is a test of the viewer's patience in attempting to find them. At first glance, the viewer is somewhat confused as to why the site asks them to engage in a game, but when g.phikx.ascii (the link to the games) is opened it becomes clear. These games become a test of speed and of the viewers' ability to sustain their interest in these interactive games. Engaging in the virtual experience Soulbath creates, the viewers unknowingly give up their navigational control - not only is the site quicker than the viewers, it even answers questions. When viewers think they have finished their Soulbath experience, it entraps and engages the viewer further by the aesthetically pleasing graphics and by arousing the innate human curiosity as to why the site exists.

Jurassic graphics

Flashing windows displaying colorful banners take deliberate advantage of the fact that in our consumer culture, people are less likely to absorb information in bright colors that speed by. In other words, there is too much to pay attention to and not enough human capacity to grasp it all. "If we only use enough different colours and lots of banners on this site, people will actually believe it has some genuine content and is popular when actually the opposite is the case. What you see here is completely useless information, but is flashing so brightly, that you have no way of knowing in the beginning if there may be some information underneath all of this. In the case of soulbath.com, there is . . ." (4). It is easily concluded that Soulbath is making a commentary on the level of the shallow consumer society in which we live. Another example is the ASCII dinosaur that is almost completely composed of dollar signs. This speaks to the lengths that advertisers go to convey their messages.

The site parallels the rest of the World Wide Web in that the viewer seemingly has total control but in fact has no control - one could postulate that it is a superficially interactive experience. This is exhibited as the site provides answers for the viewer, making sure the viewer answers questions with a positive answer, and moving too rapidly for the viewer, as stated before. The loss of control while disorienting transforms into a sensation of pleasure as the site does the thinking for the viewers. It makes viewers question how much of their lives are spent being deceived and how much is based on actuality and non-fictional events.

The site develops a satirical attitude towards not only the viewer but also the Internet. It plays on human weaknesses - the concept of "taking for granted," and the fact that we tend to believe more than we necessarily should. It tricks the viewer into believing that it has more dimensions than it actually does and also makes an obvious attempt to sound more intelligent within its texts on digital disturbance. These texts are found at the very end of the Soulbath portion of the site. They are created using cut and paste and utilizing complex words. The texts attempt to be elitist; the viewers who can understand what they are saying are welcome to read them. Others remain confused as to whether or not these texts have any pertinence to the rest of the website.

The website is making a direct commentary on the Internet as a whole by the constant categorization of subject material, the appropriation of other mediums, and the abundance of digital noise. Hi, Res! is the perfect group to appropriate other mediums because of their extensive background and love of fine arts, music, and film. An analogy can be drawn to the work of Haim Steinbach. Both attempt to transform the banal into artwork. Through this transformation, Steinbach and Hi, Res! are attempting to find meaning in the ordinary. They are also stating that it is unnecessary to fall into the trap of consumerism and examine the dialogue that is created between the marketers and the marketed. Neither body of work really exhibits the presence of the artist yet instead makes a commentary on the role of commodities in our society.

Albeit confusing, Soulbath.com comments on various concerns of contemporary society: feminism, consumer culture, urban planning, entertainment, and the feeling of being trapped in today's world. On a broader note, it examines how all of these issues interact and are brought together. The site explores how important current anxieties and worldwide problems are packaged together and distributed for the population to absorb.