Sunday, December 9, 2007

Design research: 10 websites

www.freepeople.com
This company is my favorite clothes designer(although I think they're way over priced.) this website is very easy to navigate. The site has a scrapbook feel to it. Everything is reached through the bar that runs along the top. Each section you click on breaks it down into categories to make it easier to fin what you want. I liked the cute little details they placed throughout the website.

www.urbanoutfitters.com
This is my favorite product design store. I always go here to look for ideas and to see the designs they have. This is an easy site to navigate. It has everything located on the side. There are also different ways to search for things, which makes it easier to find what you want. they also have new designs on the home page, which draws you into the site.

www.formglas.com
This is a company that specializes in making products out of gypsum, and cement. Gypsum is not flammable and very lightweight. Their products are very organic and can fir anywhere from a business to a home. Their website was easy to navigate. They explain what they do, how they do it, and show all their work. They have an impressive portfolio. When you click on a link it breaks things down into categories so it's easier to see what you want.

www.cpidaylighting.com
This company has been around since the 1980s. They specialize in using natural light, whether it be skylights, panels, or windows. Everything technical and business oriented runs along the top of the website. Things like company history, news and gallery is located on the side. Everything is very organized and easy to navigate. Their gallery of projects was my favorite part of the site. Projects were broken down into very specific categories, which made viewing very nice.

www.ivalolighting.com
This website is very sleek and clean. I think the introduction is very cool. It starts out with a grey background and lolight shines out from the background. The entire introduction takes only 5 seconds and that is very convenient. The original table of context is very easy and well organized, but once you clck on something it gets a little confusing. I didn't know what i was clicking on until i clicked on it. The products are very beautiful. Light fixtures are one of my favorite things to look for so i really enjoyed this website.

www.mikeandmaaike.com
I really love the jewlery that these designers have made. This was the main reason I went to their website. I found this website very confusing. Off to the left side is a bar with information and text on it. The only problem is everything is cut off so you have n idea what is being said. You also can;t click on it. I think the pictures they used are really neat, but pretty confusing. I don't know what it is i'm clicking on. It isn't very easy to find something quickly, although they might've wanted to make you explore the site.

www.bluworldusa.com
I love anything having to do with water, be it bath tubs, sinks, or water sculptures. I was very excited to go to this website and spent about an hour looking at all of their projects. I like how they explain all their products at the bottom of the pictures. I also like how they give the price. I think this little detail is very interesting, so i scroll down to check out how many bills people drop on these sculptures. The only confusing part was when you clicked on the picture of their products on their homepage. It takes you somewhere that i still don't know why everything is there.

www.dogbar.com
Even though my dog can sometimes be annoying i still love her, so when i see a dog couch i can't resist the urge to go check them out. The home page is hilarious. It's a bunch of dog's heads on human bodies dressed in different trends. I especially like the greyhound with tattoos and the chihuahua in a pink dress sitting on the bench. I found the dog furniture pretty easily and was surprised by all the choices. There must be some spoiled dogs out there. The layout was very playful and put you in a good mood as you browsed around.

www.plushpod.com
This website drew me in with the bubble chair, so I had to go see what else they had. This website has a lot of colors, which is nice to look at. It was very easy to navigate. They put pictures of the products next to the text, so as to draw you in. A little farther down they show what will be in each category. They have some pretty awesome designs and products. The logo at the bottom looked very modern and unique. This site is definitely getting bookmarked.

www.wallter.com
I love the designs of this website. I like that all his designs are made of two-dimensional things that are put together to form a three-dimensional piece. The color of the background works really well with all of his pictures. The pictures really pop out at you and make te products more enticing(maybe too enticing, I really want to buy the Palm Mobile.) The subtle white alligator scale shapes in the background are a nice detail. It was easy to navigate and I like how there wasn't a ton of products under each gallery. It was easy to pay attention to individual pieces this way.

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