Author: Taylor Gearhart

As a doughnut fusion restaurant, I chose to review a website that directly competes, a popular doughnut restaurant in Chicago, Illinois: Glazed and Infused. The website’s address is https://www.goglazed.com/index.php. The website immediately stood out to me, it’s simple but vibrant and definitely was designed well. The Glazed and Infused Website uses a lot of mediums together: illustration, type, and photography within the same page. In other words, there’s a lot to look at.

Upon first looking at the website, there is a blatant color scheme which successfully ties the elements of the page together. The prominent color of the website is a bright orange, which creates cohesion and instills brand recognition. Otherwise the color palette is cream and black, which complement and calm down the vibrancy of the orange. There is an interesting texture to the background color, which gives it a vintage paper feel. This in combination with sketchy illustrations and detailed photographic textures creates a retro yet modern mood to the website. I think that the website does a good job to attract a certain audience.

The layout and navigation of the website are fairly standard. The homepage draws you into a button labeled “Order Here” which takes you to the menu page. The rest of the homepage is general information about the restaurant. Otherwise there is a navigation bar near the top of the website which lists important categories like menu, locations, etc. Hovering over these aspects of the navigation bar places an orange bar over the text, and upon clicking it leads you to another page with information and photography. Photography is a major aspect of the website’s layout and uses large photographs of the restaurant and doughnuts to head each page. The photography is great and looks very appealing; I think that using large, indulgent photographs was a wise decision to entice viewers to purchase their food.

Everything is fairly well organized apart from feeling a bit cluttered. One thing I did not like about the website is a panel at the bottom of the page which has several, but not all of the same buttons as the top navigation bar. I do not like that you cannot access all elements easily from one navigation bar alone; for instance, the social media icons are only found at the bottom of the page. A lot of the same information is repeated and I feel as though the website needs to be more streamline and simple. Overall, the website had a fairly straightforward layout, but a lot of the information and pages were overwhelming with content.

In comparison to my restaurant’s page I think it competes well. Both websites use a selective color palette and a vibrant, retro appeal. I think what will make our website stand out is its more modern take on a classic food item. The one-page website with a streamline design and minimal information will make it easier for the viewer to be guided through content.

I chose to review two local restaurant’s websites: Meat and Potatoes (http://meatandpotatoespgh.com/index.html) and Butcher and the Rye (http://butcherandtherye.com/#) They are not only similar in cuisine, style, and atmosphere, but the two restaurants are actually in collaboration, so I felt it would be interesting to compare the two.

I first looked at the website for Meat and Potatoes. Upon first visiting the website the viewer is immediately drawn to a butcher chart in which is labeled the different parts of the website which can be navigated: Menu, About, Gallery, Contact, etc. Upon clicking on one of these panels takes you to a simple webpage that minimally addresses the information. The viewer can then visit other parts of the website through a navigation bar at the top of the page. The website has a good sense of unity by using consistent color scheme, texture, and illustrations. The only disruption in this was the “The Chef” tab, which takes you to a bland, mediocre website belonging to the owner, which distracts from the otherwise persistent theme. Nonetheless, this website does a good job to create a brand for themselves and convey a sophisticated, yet rough around the edges, attitude. While the emphasis of these webpages is of course on the information selected, the restaurant’s logo, address, and number are consistently repeated on each page, which is convenient.

Next I visited the Butcher and the Rye website, which had a one-page layout. While the website seemed to mimic Meat and Potato’s monochromatic color palette and heavy use of texture, this website seemed to portray a more whimsical mood. At the top of the webpage is clickable typography and corresponding illustrated decals. Upon clicking on the words, for instance “The Menu”, the page automatically scrolls down to an image of the menu. The viewer also has the ability to scroll manually through all of the information. There is an evident consistency in the imagery of the page, relying on a bitmap texture and vintage collage technique. While the Butcher and Rye website is a bit busy, it’s certainly unique and attention grabbing.

Regarding Krug’s list of essential aspects of a website, I’ve tried to determine how the webpages implemented these. As far as creating a clear visual hierarchy on every page, I feel that the Meat and Potatoes website does a better job. Each category is featured very directly by importance, whereas the Butcher and the Rye webpage is a bit all over the place and everything seems to flow together. I feel that the Meat and Potatoes website also does a better job at utilizing conventions, for instance it implements headlines in a more prominent way, where as the Butcher and the Rye is presented in more unconventional way. I think both pages do a good job at creating clearly defined areas through page breaks, borders, and titles labeling each section. Both websites clearly define what is a clickable link very well. Meat and Potatoes implements underlined text and text that changes color when hovered. Catcher and the Rye relies on a bold red color when hovered at the beginning of the webpage, which really grabs the viewer’s attention and urges them to click. Lastly, I think both websites did a fairly good job at minimizing noise. If anything, the Butcher and the Rye website is a bit busy and slightly distracting, but I think it works well to suggest the desired feeling of the restaurant.

Overall, while the Meat and Potatoes website is definitely clean and well organized, the Butcher and the Rye personally draws my attention more. The one-page scroll is unconventional and interactive, and there is immense interest in the visuals of the webpage. The webpage is fun and a bit offbeat, suggesting that the restaurant would be a unique and unordinary dining experience.

 

 

I chose to write about the single-page graphic novel, ‘The Boat’ by Nam Le, which can be found at this link: http://www.sbs.com.au/theboat/ and covers 6 breathtaking chapters. ‘The Boat’ page blends beautiful ink and brush illustrations, haunting audio, and an impactful story with smooth and emblematic animations. The painted black and white texture of the page gives it a “storybook” feeling which is appropriate for the subject, and the watercolor is reminiscent of the water within the story. In chapter 2, a pale red-orange color is used with flowers and feathers, to imply a calm point in the storyline, but otherwise the page uses a monochromatic palette, implying the solemnity of the story. The page uses a top to bottom scroll, which is indicated by an arrow and the word “scroll” at the start of the page. There is also an auto scroll feature, which allows the viewer to be completely submerged in the experience. The visuals also tilt and move slightly with the movement of the mouse. There is a side panel, which allows you to click through the different chapters, as well. While scrolling, panels of illustration tilt alongside text, mimicking the movement of the water. The layout is mostly panels with layered illustrations and text, appearing and disappearing at certain points in the story. The panels move forward, shake, and sway while the viewer scrolls through the narrative. The panels and illustration style essentially make this page an interactive digital graphic novel. Speech bubbles will appear when the viewer scrolls to that point, once again creating fluidity and clarity. The background is also an interesting element to the page, and fades in and out of animated illustrations. The text and imagery flow well together and make the storyline and events captivating and easy to understand. Overall, I think the site’s design is exceptionally well done. I find this website to be especially inspiring and uniquely done. This is a unique concept that truly utilizes the one page design. ‘The Boat’ digitalizes a printed graphic novel, meanwhile still lending an experience to the viewer. The movement of the page, with wonderfully done paintings intermingling alongside the narrative, is effortless and mesmerizing.

I am drawn to fashion trends and spend a fair amount of time looking at clothes, usually that I can’t afford, online. I like to buy clothes from a variety of websites because it gives me a more diverse collection, so I’ve spent a lot of time on clothing websites. I was recently introduced to the online clothing company “ASOS” through online advertisements,  and it looked like the type of brand I’d be interested in.

The website has a fairly simple layout and is easy to navigate. Upon clicking on the “Women” page of the website, the page shows current featured collections, or allow you to look at individual products towards the bottom of the page. Dragging the cursor over the “Women” tab also creates a drop list of the variety of products to look through. It is incredibly easy to directly search for what you are looking for, or to browse through collections.

Another interesting attribute of ASOS is the ASOS Marketplace, which allows you to shop from independent, vintage boutiques through the website. The Marketplace website is nearly identical to the regular website and is incredibly easy to navigate as well. I like this idea because it gives a whole new range of products that are able to be purchased through the website.

The ASOS website aesthetic is clean and minimal: a white webpage with bold Helvetica text in black. The neon color palette and vivid graphics give a pop to the webpage and alludes to the current 80’s and 90’s fashion fad. The photography used is again simple, shot in the studio with a white backdrop, bringing attention to the clothing and styling. Overall, the website is effortless but still portrays a distinct fashion statement. The website immediately suggests the type of customer who they intend to purchase their products: young, trendy individuals who want to stand out.

I’ve been looking for a fur jacket, and after a simple search I found several I was interested in. Upon clicking to put it in my cart and purchase the item, I did have to make an account in order to buy the product, but it was an otherwise streamline and direct process. The minimal format and smooth navigation of the website made it enjoyable to use and left me with a good impression of ASOS. 

us.asos.com