Miranda Kerin
Review 3
Mad Mex vs. Burgatory
For this review I chose to compare Burgatory and Mad Mex on their websites. The first site I chose to open was Burgatory’s, and was pleasantly surprised by how unique it’s homepage looked. Instead of the classic downward scrolling page, it allowed the user to scan through different burger choices and put humor in each slide. Being a mostly create-your-own meal restaurant, it was a clever way to show some of the creations one could potentially make if they visited in person. The site also has the same design feeling as the inside of their restaurants, allowing for a seamless transition in their marketing. They balanced out their page nicely with the use of bold text shown on either side of the central graphic. They place heavy emphasis on the image of the burger, for good reason. The layout, as I said previously, is unique but it works well for their company.
On the other hand, when I opened Mad Mex’s homepage I was not as impressed by the initial look of their layout. Their color schemes seem to work well for their style of restaurant, but their lack of texture gives the site a boring feel. Although the navigation is easy to understand, for it is located right underneath a simple banner. While this makes in some-what user friendly, it does not make it stand out as a unique and interesting website. The use of balance is thrown off by a large image that drowns out the text. They also use yellow text on a green banner for their additional information footer which is somewhat hard to read. This site also goes against Krug’s, “Make it easy to go home,” rule. There is no home link on the main navigation, the user must click the large banner in order to go back home. In fact, the only other option to go home is the small yellow text on the footer.
When comparing these two websites, Burgatory succeeds in having a more unique and balanced layout in comparison to Mad Mex. They tied in the theme of their restaurant to the experience of their website, and it only helps add to their brand.