Web Critique - Week 20

Site:	http://www.threadman.com/ Thread Man Fine Clothing “Classic Clothing for the Gentleman”
Target:	Men in the upper income brackets, between 30 and 60.
Engaging/not:	Elegant looking home page: The colours, text and muted images convey the feeling of understated opulence. Subsequent pages all maintain a common format using the same text elements from the home page with the same links laid out in a horizontal bar across the top of the page, with the logo being the only route back to the home page. For some reason these pages do not keep the background colour from the home page (I think it would look better and maintain cohesion if they did). The “Shop Online” page becomes “Select a Category” when opened and the categories themselves are displayed in a very small box in the middle of the page as simple underlined links. This looks like they couldn’t be bothered to make the page look more enticing.
Would want:	The home page is very nicely laid out.
Would not want:	It is a pity that the design elements of the home page are not maintained on every page in the site.

Site Critique - Week 15 nuber 2

Site:	http://www.annestahl.com/ Anne Stahl abstract landscape painting
Target:	Fans and anyone interested in purchasing the art.
Engaging/not:	Very eye-catching home page: The navigation is in a column on the left and repeated in a bar along the bottom of the page. The majority of the home page is taken up with a slideshow of the artist’s work which grabs the attention of the site visitor. On subsequent pages the muted olive background color is maintained and the bottom navigation bar is reflected along the top of the page. The exceptions to this are the “Thesis” page and the “Guest Book” page, both of which drastically change the style: The reason for this is particularly hard to understand for the “Guest Book” page. Each series of paintings is displayed on a separate page but for some reason there is no consistency in the format of the displays.
Would want:	The home page is very nicely laid out: The layout itself, the use of colours, which enhance the images of the paintings and do not try to compete with them for attention.
Would not want:	It is a pity that the design elements of the home page are not maintained on every page in the site and that one scheme is not used to display all the series of paintings.

Site Critique - Week 15

Site:	http://www.webuildpages.com/ Internet Marketing Services
Target:	Businesses with web pages who wish to increase their ranking in search engines such as Yahoo and Google.
Engaging/not:	Very underwhelming design. There is a grey navigation bar at the top of the page just under the logo (which is the only way to get back ‘home’ from other pages) and the links are repeated at the bottom of the page: This is a good thing since the pages are all very long and require much scrolling. There is a histogram on the home page. The bars get bigger as you go right but there is no explanation of what this represents. The whole site seems haphazard and slapdash, not what you would expect to attract serious business custom! However, the services offered are clearly laid out along with the costs.
Would want:
Would not want:	The overall effect is one of disorganization. Perhaps more pages with less blurb on each would work better? If I were an online business, this would not tempt me to hire them.

Site Critique - Week 14

Site:	http://www.helenmirren.com/universe.html The Helen Mirren Appreciation Society
Target:	Fans of the actress Helen Mirren
Engaging/not:	Nicely laid out home page. The top quarter of the screen is taken up with a background image showing Helen in various head-shots starting in natural colours on the left and fading into a deep red on the right. This same red is used in a solid band along the bottom of the page which contains links to other areas of the site. The main navigation is achieved using tabs at the top of the display section of the page. This scheme is maintained throughout the site.
Would want:	The stimulating but not over forceful graphics in the header image etc.
Would not want:	The split between the links at the top of the page and those at the bottom seems a bit arbitrary: Biography at the bottom, Career at the top, for example. It would have been better to have the “Helen” links all as tabs at the top and the “Society” links where they are along the bottom.

Site Critique - Week 13

Site:	http://www.ox.ac.uk/ University of Oxford
Target:	Students, Alumni and Visitors
Engaging/not:	Simple, uncluttered opening page with a top banner in Oxford blue containing the university crest and the title. The page is split into three main sections: A list of “Quick Links” on the left Two columns of links of “Information For” and “Information About” categories A “Latest News” section on the right There is also a “search” featured prominently at the top of the page. Subsequent pages differ from the ‘home’ page in that the crest tops a column of Oxford blue down the left-hand side which contains the links and indicates the current page by using a lighter shade of blue. The bottom of the column also has the address and phone number for the University Offices. Overall, a pleasant, easy to use, accessible site.
Would want:	The clean, open web pages that lead you to each service offered. The maintenance of the same design elements on each page
Would not want:	The links to the various museums and galleries in Oxford open in the current page. It would be better if these opened a new page.

Site critique - Week 12

Site:	http://www.missouri.gov/mo/index.htm State of Missouri’s Official Web Site
Target:	Residents and Visitors to the state
Engaging/not:	Nice, uncluttered opening page: Showing News items, photographs of the state, link to the Governor, etc. and Featured sites. Navigation in the left-hand column is clear and the current item is clearly indicated. Every page (except the new “Business” page) maintains the same general design scheme with the “Show me Missouri” logo giving easy return to the home page. For residents, the pages give links to educational and residential sites, for visitors the “traveling” page gives access to places of interest, recreation areas, etc. Overall, an easy to use, accessible site.
Would want:	The clean, open web pages that lead you to each service offered.
Would not want:	The “Business” page is, in fact, an access to a totally different site, yet is opened within the same window. It would be better if it opened a new window for this.