Author: Kurt Rahner

The two sites I chose to explore and compare were peterallens.com and burgatorybar.com. Both sites have very different layouts that pertain to their target audiences’, and create the atmosphere of their restaurants. Peter Allen’s is a high-class authentic Italian restaurant, while Burgatory  is a sleek and comfortable gourmet burger joint. The layout of their websites express the feeling each is trying convey.

Both sites open up to a homepage with a slideshow in the center, and a navigation bar either across the top or along the right side. The nav bars allow the user to hover over different tabs that open up to lists of available pages in order to access more information. They both possess balance throughout the site, functioning with ease. Each has a number of pictures followed by descriptions and information. Unity is found in Peter Allen’s by using an italian inspired color scheme of reds whites and greens. Burgatory uses a color scheme of browns and reds that pair extremely nicely. The use of a distressed background gives the site a rustic feel that matches their restaurant very well. Together these two sites have very different layouts, but each works in its own way. Peter Allen’s has an extended drop down menu that requires you to scroll the full length of the page.  Burgatory has a very condensed site that requires minimal scrolling. Everything there is at your fingertips, making it simple to maneuver.  Following Krug’s 5 important things Burgatory thrives by making everything visually clear, organzing the main areas and tabs, and making the clickable areas very obvious. Peter Allen’s on the other hand is a job to navigate, scrolling to the bottom of the page and back up over and over again, and not knowing what to click and what not to click.

In my personal opinion Burgatory is a more effective website. The format of the site is so simplified that anyone can use it, it instructs you were you can find everything without confusion, and it holds your attention with witty remarks and punny jokes which I thoroughly enjoy. Its decompressed nav bar makes navigating the site very easy. The way the site is set up shows the actual vibe of the restaurant itself and gives you a taste of what you can expect your experience there to be like.

 

 

The single page website that I choose  from http://onepagelove.com/ to explore was “The Secrets of Magic: Revealed.” This site focuses on several very popular illusions throughout the history of magic and exposes exactly how the performers deceive our eyes. I actually found the topic very interesting, the website hooked me and I learned all the magic secrets they had to offer.

The site has a great color scheme that encompasses the theme of the site well. Its use of dark backgrounds and bright titles gives an almost mysterious vibe. The use of a purple grid over top of short magician clips gives the site its texture and depth. As you scroll between the 6 Magician secret options the clip in the background changes to give a preview of the selected act. When one of the 6 options is selected the user is instructed to reveal the magic, opening up to a full video clip of the specific Magicians act and a synopsis of how the illusion is accomplished. The site also provides a brief biography of the Magicians that perform each act. There is not very much interaction necessary other then a few clicks between illusions and top to bottom scrolling, so the site is very easy to navigate.

The sites large fonts and easy to follow navigational instructions make for a very user friendly experience. Further, its use of video clips to show the trick to the viewer make the experience enjoyable as you are able to watch the clip then read how they accomplished it. The user is then tempted to rewatch the clip and try to catch where the magician creates the illusion. This site is very well designed in my opinion, because it grasps the user’s attention with its intriguing layout and then holds the user’s interest with  interesting subject matter.

https://www.foxycasino.com/featured/the-secrets-of-magic.html

The site I chose to navigate through was Zumiez.com. Zumiez is a streetwear outfitter that carries goods from clothing and accessories, to complete skateboards. Their most valuable market is reselling clothing from multiple streetwear companies and manufacturers.

Navigating through their website was very simple, and can be done without any headaches. I was searching for sk8-hi vans and it took me no more than three clicks to get to what I was looking for. As soon as I specified that I was interested in shoes by clicking on the footwear tab. The website brought up the exact model I wanted under a heading titled featured. From there I only had to choose the pair of shoes I like and proceed to checkout. All that was left to do was enter my credit card information and hit complete to solidify my order. Zumiez has a very smooth layout that is easily maneuvered. They do a very good job of keeping the website simple, and do not confuse customers with odd wording and random placement. It flows through the process almost naturally, making it so that anyone can do it.