Smart Alice’s Web Design Blog

Two web sites caught my eye recently.

Blue Box Layout

The Guthrie Theater web site has a great layout. Blue boxes in all different sizes contain information, photos, slides – I really like the blue and gray stripes behind the horizontal navigation links (someone tell the webmaster to fix the padding on the second line of links so they’re centered) and the way they change colors as they stretch beyond the content area.

Innovative Navigation

The web site for artists Louviere + Vanessa: New Orleans is definitely outside the box. I love their images. To navigate the site you use your mouse to draw an arrow in the direction you want to go. You’ve got to try it and see what you think of it. It’s really strange, but I love the user interaction. If I were truly trying to find information, this would be a disastrous experience. But the site is an art gallery and it’s so much fun to wander through the gallery with this unusual navigation gizmo. Gotta find out how they do it!!

Analysis by Smart Alice Web Design, smart web design for businesses who want a unique and effective presence on the internet.

Do you like animation or flashy motion effects on a web site? In general, I don’t, unless they provide added value to me. A scrolling or jumping animation might catch my eye for a second, but it takes less than a second to click to another web site that isn’t so irritating.

I detest advertising. We all do, that’s one reason why TiVO is so popular. Advertising invades our mind space without asking our permission. When a web site is more flash than info, it starts to look like a TV ad. Instead of pressing the Fast Forward button, I’ll just click to another web site.

There are instances when motion graphics are useful. For example: slide shows for art galleries, photographers, etc. Or, high quality embedded videos when they are relevant, make me laugh, or teach me something. One of the keys to success, if you’re going to put something flashy on your site, is to give control to the visitor. I don’t want to passively sit while something runs. That’s why I always click Skip Intro (you know what I’m talking about).

Why Do It?

Why do web developers build junky animation? It seems, because they can. Here’s an example. If you go to the Longy School web site, you’ll see Latest News scrolling vertically on the right. Since it’s moving, I can’t read it. So what’s the point? This site also has a video tour of the building. I care about ambience only when I’m booking a hotel room. Irrelevant information just creates visual clutter.

Award Winners

Beantown Web lists its picks for best web sites in 2008.

There are some cool sites listed here. My favorite is James Zabiela’s site. He’s a high tech DJ so it makes sense that his web site puts on a high tech show. I like this twist: instead of placing motion graphics against a static background, he puts motion graphics in the background and places static text over it. I also like the sleek and elegant music player he provides unobtrusively in the upper right corner.

What’s Appropriate for You?

A super flashy web site is expensive to build. Keep in mind it also screams “high priced” to visitors. It could scare off potential customers who might infer you are too high priced to do business with. What is your message and do motion graphics enhance or undermine it? Know your target customer. Make the site comfortable for them. And, put them in control of the graphics.

Analysis by Smart Alice Web Design, smart web design for businesses who want a unique and effective presence on the internet.

Copyright 2009, Alice Gebura, All Rights Reserved.