design firm website evaluation

Since I had no idea where to begin with this assignment, I started at the only "design firm" website I knew of- Ai3, the firm Lucy Aiken Johnson (whose lecture we attended) co-founded. After reviewing Ai3, I branched off from there.

1. Ai3 is an interiors and architecture design firm founded by Lucy Aiken-Johnson, Dan Maas, Joe Remling and Patrick Johnson in 2004. Their website is clean cut and modern looking, and is very cool to look at. The navigation is simple and easy to use. I love the wonderful photography of their work in the portofolio section- their choices for their website really make me want to see the spaces in person. They are interesting and innovative, and I love how they explain the factors they took into consideration while designing the spaces. Under the services section, they clearly explain what their firm does, which gives a very professional image to clients. There is a news (Buzz) section, which includes a full list of honors and awards they've won. They also include thorough contact information to easily get in touch with them. Ai3 is definitely successful in reeling in clients based on their website.

2. Frequency 650 "delivers a web presence to remember." Founded in 2001, this web design company has many clients, displayed in a rather large online portfolio (Including the design for Ai3's website). I also love the fact that they have a digital sketchbook and blog, a wonderful example of the progress, work, and even mistakes and unused client work they've done over the years. With further examination of the blog, I noticed the title: "Life Notes of Marc Crouch; CEO of Frequency 650: Cycling, Training Log, Website Development and Aidan's Dad!" This really creates a connection and likeness to the company, because you see how real they are, and how personal they probably are in their work, a great hook for clients. The graphics are clean and the navigation is simple and easy, and they have all aspects of a great, hard-working design company displayed for anyone to see on their website.

3. CD&M Lighting Design Group is another firm with a website designed by Frequency 650. A similar layout to Ai3, CD&M's website has clear navigation, interesting multimedia graphics, and a large portfolio and list of projects. They list their services and provide full contact information as well as news. CD&M does work for many types of spaces such as museums, schools, office buildings and entertainment structures, in the US as well as abroad. Their website presents a professional, hard working, clean, and simple company.

4. Featured in Dwell magazine (September 2007 issue), Andrew Byrom's works with tubular steel and other metals to create furniture, lights, and other functional structures, such as bathroom handrails. He also does work in graphic design, evident on his website. This website is interesting and very well designed, but the navigation is rather confusing at first. I also had a hard time finding an "about" section, though I did find a PDF file of some information about his free standing alphabet lighting. He also gives good contact information, as well as a good portfolio with examples of his work. The graphics and simple layout and colors are what really stand out about this site. I also found this collection of his favorite designs, ideas, and even rejected work. It was an interesting and artistic way to display some of his more unfinished work which really creates a "real" feeling about him.

5. City Desk Studio is an architecture firm which had a residential home featured on the front cover of the October 2007 issue of Dwell magazine. When first visiting their website, your eyes are first drawn to the huge and brightly colored text title. After that, the large and interestingly changing image in the middle of the page. I love how simple the layout is, and how easy the navigation is. City Desk Studio's website provides good contact information and a good profile and "about" section. My favorite part of this site is the "work" area. I love how this area is set up- a rectangle of differently shaped images that all work together. The presentation of work and portfolio is so important, I think this website does an excellent job.

6. Artecnica is a design firm that concentrates primarily on lighting, interior elements, art, and accesories. Their website is fairly easy to naviagate and use, but it is very complex. You can get lost easily and not be able to find your way back. Another aspect that isn't so great is that their contact section is blank. The only thing they supply are a telephone and fax number- a way of communication that is becoming rather outdated. I love most of their products though- the lights are innovative and very artistic and bold. Though the layout of the website is kept simple, I feel it could use a little more organization and clearer navigation.

7. Empyrean is a an architectural design company that custom designs and builds prefabricated homes on site. This is the first of the websites I've seen that I really don't like. The color scheme is not very pleasing to the eye and the graphics look almost a little amateur. The digital effects when you roll over links are cool, but the navigation itself is very complicated and confusing. I had to go to "site map" in order to find their "about the company" section. Their designs however, are very interesting. Found this one through the October 2007 issue of Dwell.

8. KPS Group, an architecture/interior design firm that also has a website by Frequency 650. This one however, is rather different than the other 2 I've looked at. They still keep their information and navigation simple and easy to use. I love the animations of different images that use in their portfolio. The layout is nice and simple, and perfect place to display their work so it catches the most attention. I also like the fact that they have a "careers" section, as not many of the other sites do. This invites people to their company as well as creating that "real" feeling connection between them and the people who seek their services.

9. Pugh + Scarpa is an architecture firm found in the October 2007 issue of Dwell. The first thing I noticed upon visiting their website is that their layout is based around pictures of their work, drawing huge attention to it. I do with that they'd used more color though, I feel like there is almost too much grey. The picture of a building they designed in dwell was extremely yellow and vibrant, and I didn't see much of that looking at their website. Their designs are extremely cool!

10. Kartell is a product design company. Their website is very cool to look at, as they have a lot of cool flash animation. Their navigation is easy to use, and I like the black background and red text scheme. All of their designs are clean and simple, and they are perfectly represented through their website. I also like how their site has many different languages to choose from, which shows how they have customers all over the world.