Week 3 Part A: Aesthetics, Design, and Branding

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 Not all websites are created equally. How true this statement is manifests itself from the moment the website loads. Some websites are a sheer joy to visit due to the selection and arrangement of their visual and textual contents. Other sites can be really difficult to navigate due to poor design. This can be especially cumbersome if the site is one you must use regularly. 

Gates N Fences

A business website in need of improvement is Gates N Fences at https://gatesnfences.com. The first hazard of this website is the lack of hierarchy and the overabundance of text. It's overwhelming. It appears that every product they sell is listed with text, a picture, and a product description. It is truly a hunt and click opportunity for the viewer.

Along with a lack of hierarchy is a lack of concept. While it's clear they sell gates and fences, it's unclear who is their target audience. I'm not sure if they are trying to attract consumers, contractors, or large businesses. It's not clear if the website isn't just some type of ordering platform. There is a lack of logo, and I'm confused if the company name is Gates N Fences or L.A. Ornamental Corp. 

Their use of typography is another detractor. The font size is too small to make the text easily readable. White font on red is hard on the eyes. The white font over the pictures is also hard to read. Some of the text overlaps other text too. The use of color, font size, and dense blocks of text is draining to look at for long.

This site does not appear to be professionally done. The horizontal scrolling Visa/Mastercard icon makes me question the validity and security of the site. This company needs go totally hands off from web design and hire a professional to redesign their site. 

Best Electronics

Best Electronics has been in business for over 37 years and their site is accessed at https://best-electronicss-ca.com. They are dedicated to preserving the authenticity of the time period when Atari first launched and became a household name. The website, which updates its information, appears to have the same web design it launched with in 1984. 

The hierarchy consists of increasing font size and using different font colors. The test covers the whole page horizontally. One must read and scroll through the text to find the content you are looking for. There are very few pictures or graphics to provide contrast for the eye.

There is no navigation bar and no home button. If you click on a link you must use the browser back arrow to return to the website. 

The owner of Best Electronics appears to be the website designer. They also appear to have a loyal fan base. Using a younger, tech savvy, Atari fan to redesign the website would be a good move. The website could be modernized with a navigation bar, home element, repetition, more graphics and photos, and condensed text passages for starters. Homage to Atari could be provided through font selection and selective choice of graphics and photos.  

National Park Service

National Park Service has an attractive and easy to use website found at https:www.nps.gov. Alignment is used effectively to make the site easy on the eyes. Titles, articles, and text passages are left justified. Centered titles and subtitles are in solid color boxes of different shades of transparency placed on pictures.

Use of hierarchy is also an effective component of the website. Timely information about COVID-19 appears first. Following that is a black navigational bar with white font. The menu opens into a three column section consisting of: Plan Your Visit, Learn and Explore, Get Involved. Each section opens to its own web page and has a series of four to eight separate links for section topics. Below the navigation bar is a clickable feature image celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. At the bottom of the picture is a call to action horizontal bar entitled Find a Park with a state drop down list. Following this is a three by three grid of graphics/photos and text pertaining to current and historical September events and tips for visiting national parks. Each section when clicked on opens up with a feature image that has a separate navigational bar at the bottom of the photo with links pertaining to that topic. There is a call to action subscription side bar too. Below this is a navigational bar displaying the same clickable topics found in the menu. This is followed by another Find Your Park clickable on a photo of an aerial view of the Statue of Liberty. Following this is a horizontal, clickable four picture section covering the following topics: Discover History, Explore Nature, For Kids, and For Educators. Each topic opens up to a separate page with its topic specific navigation bar and clickable topic related articles. Below this is a horizontal section displaying the NPS app with clickable App Store and Google Play icons. The footer contains all pertinent and necessary business links, social media icons, and the National Park Service logo that takes you to the top of the page. 

The site is easy to use due to its consistent use of navigation bar repetition. Each new web page that opens up contains the same navigational elements and colors used as on the home page.

The National Park Service website is a professionally created and maintained website. It was last updated on 9/2/21. It does a wonderful job of serving as a resource for exploring America's national parks and sharing American history.

San Diego Botanic Garden

San Diego Botanic Garden has a beautiful website that can be found at sdbgarden.org. The concept of love for nature resonates through the site. Every picture is from the Garden and the pictures are the focal point on every page. The web page is uncluttered and has plenty of white space. Below the navigation bar is a slider that cycles through five different pictures. Each picture highlights different current events: Garden Party, Volunteer Orientation, Bromeliads Exhibit, Saplings Classes, and New Hours. Each picture is also clickable and opens up a webpage about that event. 

Contrast is another positive feature of this site. The white background provides a good amount of white space to balance out the pictures. The font color is either black, maroon, or green, which is easy to read on the white background. White colored font used on the pictures is easily readable and effective.

Use of repetition makes this site easy to use. While the navigation bar is extensive with nine different clickable sections, each section's page has the same elements: header, navigation bar, feature image, short text passage, side bar of pertinent, clickable topics, a smaller phot, and the footer.

The website for the San Diego Botanic Garden is professionally created and maintained. It always displays a love and joy for the San Diego Botanic Garden. It's definitely a feast for the eyes.

 

My biggest take away from this investigation is the importance of concept as it pertains to the purpose of your website and what you want your website to reflect. This is something that should be thought out before engaging with technology. Once you get started, it's so easy to get carried away with clicking and trying different layouts and typography out. It's important to make sure every element is necessary to the purpose of your website and what you want it to reflect about your business. 

I commented on the following business research blogs: Sean Conti, Drew Estelle, and Daniel Martinez. They all expressed different and valuable insights about the use of social media.