Week 4, Post One

My blog post is later than I would have liked.  My son is on vacation from school this week, and we have been working on a building project...

Nick the Builder

So here goes the assignment:

1+2. Choose 2 websites and identify at least three potential problems for visitors. What could be improved and how would it help?

The first website I chose was the Stone Brewing website.  When I landed on the homepage, I was overwhelmed.  There were too many busy images for me to process.  I didn't find the navigation tools I was looking for such as:  Home, About Us, Contact, Visit Us, Shop etc.   The social media links were not on the landing page.

Since I am not familiar with this brewing company, I was expecting some kind of short introduction on the landing page.  I would have liked to see a few sentences saying who they are what kind of beer they brew.  Perhaps if the Logo was slightly smaller they could have included this information under it.  Alternatively, they could make the logo smaller and put it in the upper left hand corner.  This move would give them more room for a short introduction.  The landing page would look much cleaner if there were not images under the text tabs on the right hand margin!  The background image underneath the logo sets a GREAT atmosphere, why not just have textual tabs on the right margin.  Save the images for later pages.  The white text looks great on the background image, keep it simple.

When I clicked on the top right hand tab, I was taken to an image of the Escondido location.  On this page I found some familiar navigation tabs in the upper right hand corner.  Clicking on any of these tabs released a barrage of information, again, too much for me to process!  The Escondido page also had a down arrow tab, which again led me to too much information (three pages of it).  I had a hard time finding a "home" tab when I wanted it.

For me, this site was hard to navigate, and I felt like it was lacking an introduction.  The information was too jumbled.  They need better organization and decreased complexity.

The next website I chose was Headhunter Hairstyling.  When I landed on the homepage, I found it easy to navigate.  The tabs such as Home, About Us, Services, etc. were right there for me to find.  They probably should have put the social media links at the top of the page, rather than making me scroll down to find them.  I also would have like to know their city and state location right away on the landing page.

I didn't like the flashing pictures on the landing page.  Maybe they should save some of the images for other pages or for their FB page.  Maybe the problem is the timing.  I think they flashed through the pictures too quickly.  I liked the images themselves.  They conveyed luxury and pampering, perfect for a salon.

When I clicked between the Home, About Us, Services etc., I noticed that the pages were not consistent.  What I mean is, there was not a unified design theme that tied the pages together.  It looks like they used the same sans-serif font, but that was about all that was similar on the pages.  The colors weren't similar.  The page layouts were different.  I think this detracted from the "look" of the website.  I do not a clear sense of their brand.

3.  Choose 2 websites and identify what they have done right.

First, I chose the Apple website.  The color scheme of the landing page is black and white.  This color scheme really complements their products, and gives the page a very clean look.  This site uses scrolling pictures on the landing page, but for some reason, they aren't as distracting as the scrolling pictures on the Headhunter site.  I think it's the timing and the similarity of the pictures.

The landing page clearly establishes their brand.  This branding is consistent through all the pages.

The navigation tabs are along the top of the screen are very simple.  When I clicked on any of the tabs, I got just a little bit of information.  This sent me clicking for more information, instead of being overwhelmed with too much information.

Does Apple use social media?!  I couldn't find the links.

Next, I looked at the Toyota website.  The predominant color scheme is black, white and red.  It looks very simple and clean.   The site gives a clear product branding.  This website has a LOT of information, but it is well-organized.  Like the Apple website, there are navigation choices at the bottom of the pages as well as the top.  I can find what I need quickly and easily.


4.  How does design, aesthetics and branding impact your reaction to the websites?

Websites are a visual media.  When information is presented in a way that our eyes and brain can make sense of it we feel comfortable and we will spend longer looking at it.  The Apple and Toyota websites are both well-designed, as one would expect of these large, successful companies.  The images convey their brand and stimulate the consumer to want to purchase their products.

When a website design is not well-designed, it turns the consumer off.  The consumer feels confused and unless they are very motivated to stay on the page, they will click away.