DESIGNING FOR WEB//GOOD AND BAD WEB DESIGN//OUGD504

GOOD AND BAD WEB DESIGN AND LAYOUT:
We were asked to find examples of websites that we thought demonstrated a good design technique with appropriate layout that we liked, in contrast we were then asked to find examples of web design that displays bad qualities of design and layout.
GOOD:

1.CANAL MILLS
http://canalmills.com/

This is a new website recently launched for the opening of the new venue Canal Mills in Leeds, its an art, music and culture website which gives you information on upcoming events going on at the venue. The website was developed by Castus Web Design and designed by Chee Lee.  Chee Lee is a graphic designer who works at: Alcazar/Happyaccident.  

Castus: 'Here at Castus Design we're web specialists. We concentrate solely on the web, building projects of any size from five-page business brochure sites, to fully functional web-based applications.'

I like the fresh design, I think it reflects the venue well.  I think the header at the top of the page with the venue name and the photograph edit of the venue looks modern and interesting.  I think it has a simple layout, nothing to complex to direct yourself around the page, I like the use and style of image they use.

2.SCOTCH&SODA
http://www.scotch-soda.com/en/blog

Scotch & Soda is an Amsterdam based fashion brand.  This is the website, which I really like the design of, I can't find any information on the designer of this web page, however it has been recognised as a high end designed web page on several blogs.  I like the simplicity of it, it looks like a high end fashion blog/website.  Plain background and use of prominent photography.  I think the site successfully reflects the customers of the brand.

3.KIRSCHNER BRASIL

http://www.kirschnerbrasil.cc/

Kirschner is a cycling apparel brand hailing from Santa Catarina, Brazil. As a start-up, they required everything from a name and identity, right through to the apparel design and promotional collateral.

The final logo and overall direction was designed to convey a contemporary brand that recognised and celebrated the pedigree at the root of the sport. The modern styling with vintage nuances give the brand its own unique identity within an increasingly competitive market.Paul Calver was appointed as lifestyle photographer and videographer, completing the visual direction for the Kirschner brand. Additional postcard photography by Karla Rudnick.

http://madebysix.com/#/project/kirschner/view-all

I think the design for this website works really well, it looks contemporary and good quality.  I really like the use of photography throughout the site and I think the black and white makes it look slick and professional.  Easy navigation throughout the site and makes the brand look modern and high range.

4.NEW MYSPACE
https://new.myspace.com/

This is the website for the newly designed myspace intended to cater for a modern day audience, with elements of Tumblr, Grooveshark, Twitter and Facebook.  It was redesigned by JOSEPHMARK: 'We design to amplify intent, using technology to create deeper interconnectivity between people, products, places and planets.  We collaborate with people who want to see and shape ideas whose time has come.'  

This is the new video to advertise the new redesigned myspace:

5.ANTONELLA ARISMENDI

http://www.antonellaarismendi.com/

I really like the way the photographs are displayed on this website, I think the simple white background draws attention to the photography.  It was designed by Agustin Merlo: http://www.agustinmerlo.com/works/Antonella-Arismendi/

6.EDITS

http://www.editsquarterly.com/

I think this layout and navigation is very impressive, because so much of it is based on telling a narrative through photographs the site has kept the design simple for your main focus to be the photographs.  I think the column of writing on the left hand side is nicely placed, enough information for you to read without distracting you from the main focus.  The person who designed this website was: Ian Coyle.

'Ian Coyle is a creative director, designer, and interaction developer living in Portland, Oregon. With Duane King, he runs Huge/KingCoyle, an innovation lab focused on design, culture, and craft. 

He is inspired by typography, photojournalism, newspapers, and vintage motorcycles.'

7.VENT1

http://www.vent1.net/

I like the bright, clean, minimalist design of this, I think it works well for a modelling agency website, I like that the background is plain and not distracting.  The designer of this website is: David Salvator.

8.TWO FISH ILLUSTRATION 

http://www.twofishillustration.com/

I like the opening page of the website, I think it looks creative and eye catching, I like the way the designers work is displayed, in different square sections of the page, I think it works well having it in black and white because it suits the website style more, when you hover over specific works the original colour of each art work shows up.

9.DESIGN UNIT

http://www.designunit.dk/

This is Design Unit, I like the constant scroll technique used to scroll through different projects, I think the font used for 'Design Unit' is appropriate for the type of website it is.

10.SOME WORDS

http://qus-qus.com/words/

I think this is nicely laid out, I like the text being constantly on the left hand side being able to scroll down through the pictures, easy navigation.

BAD:

1.UNITED SKATES

http://unitedskatesri.com/

I think the worst thing about this website is the colour scheme, none of the colours work well together, on the actual site some of the emoticons flash and change colour which makes it look cheap and unprofessional.  The block colours of background amongst text and images don't look good together.

2.MR BOTTLES

http://www.mrbottles.com/

Really bad lay out, the image background doesn't work with the amount of text on the page, far too much text on one page with images placed badly amongst the text.  A talking man appears that you can't get rid of.  The colour scheme doesn't work, the two different coloured fonts don't work.  The worst is the way they have placed the images on the site.

3.PETERS BUSS

http://www.petersbuss.se/

The way this site is designed must effect how serious people take it, the way the images are placed together especially with the coloured backgrounds makes it look unprofessional.  The bad choice of type face and font colour makes the site look childish and navigation isn't that straight forward as it redirects you to other pages when you click on a link.

4. 007 MUSEUM

http://www.007museum.com/

The layout is really busy and its hard to tell whats actually going on, the blue hyperlinks make it look amateurish and the blue boarders around the pictures look bad.  The combination of cluttered text and images makes it hard to look at and navigate.

5.WIZARDS TATTOO

http://www.wizzardstattoo.com/jwiz.html

This site uses a lot of animated gifs which look dated and tacky, I think the black background with dripping blood and fire flames makes it look unprofessional for a tattoo company.  The way the pictures have been displayed don't help the business in advertising its trade.  The white and red font on the black background makes it look cheap and it isn't especially easy to read.

6.ORGANIC GREEN SPIRIT 

http://larrycarlson.com/medijate/index2.htm

This website is too busy, flashing images and moving graphics everywhere, the colours are garish.  Its not easy to navigate either as the links to other pages on the website are located at the bottom of the page, with the text colour not easily legible on the green background.  Also as soon as you click on the page music is played which can be distracting.

7.RAFT

http://www.raft.org/

The website layout isn't professional or clear, there are images that don't even appear where they are supposed to, the colours are bright and garish and don't compliment each other.  The use of text doesn't look appropriate against the backdrop and it isn't especially easy to navigate.  Also some pages within the website cannot be found.

8.SUICIDE HOTLINES

http://suicidehotlines.com/

The choice of colour, the black on black with a dark blue outer glow on the opening page, the image of the crying woman is pixelated and really badly drawn.  The colour scheme changes when clicking on each page, there is no design consistency throughout the website.

9.SERENE NATURIST

http://www.serene-naturist.com/

The organisation of images looks really bad, some overlap others.  The site is filled with sparkly moving images that constantly fly around the page accompanied with music.  The text overlaps block colour backgrounds.  Moving text also appears on the website with block colour background which makes it look amateurish.

10.SIXTIES PRESS

http://www.sixtiespress.co.uk/

The background on this website looks unprofessional, the logo is of really bad quality and the text colour is inconsistent.  The use of coloured underlined hyperlinks makes it look like really bad web design and the block colour backgrounds add an amateurish feel to it.