Billy Blue College of Design

This website is for Billy Blue College of Design. I think this site breaks all the rules for navigation. The links are in a huge font size, bright color, and they move depending on which one you click on. I think that works fine on this site, being a design school, because you want to be interested in going here, but I'm not sure if I would like it on another site. I like the roll over effect on the images for the courses. The pink, black and white color choice works well, it looks very contemporary.

Mark Gowing Design

This is a site for Mark Gowing Design. It has a Swiss yet contemporary feel to it, and it definitely reminds me of Pentagram. It all stays on one page, so you don't see a quick flash of black every time you click on a link, which is good. The links 'grow' from the left to right as you progress deeper into the site. It is just so simple and clean. I also like the yellow and gray color combo.

T Magazine

This post is for T: The New York Times Style Magazine. I picked this site to change up what I usually blog about. This is not a designers portfolio. This is a website for a magazine so you can see news between issues. The reason I posted this is because i really like how the center picture stays fixed, while everything else scrolls up and down. I don't think I have seen this done before. It actually caught me off guard because I thought it was a pop-up in front of what I was scrolling. When I realized what it was I was amazed.

Ariane Spanier Design

This is a portfolio site for Ariane Spanier Design. I really like the opening page because it is so unique. I have never seen something like this before. The added animation that happens when you mouse over each black image is nice. The way this site is designed, once you enter an inside page, you can see more examples from that topic, as well as the next and previous topics by clicking on the arrows. If you want to go back to home, just click on the group of vertical lines. I really like the layout of this site. It is definitely not boring.

Emery Studios

Emery Studios is a design firm based in Australia that does brand identity, marketing, signage, pretty much anything you can think of. At first, i was creeped out by the bug that shows up (I hate bugs), but it is actually a good illustration. This site is interesting to go through because it slides right and left when you click on something. The categories for the links are understandable and easy to use because the sub links all have the same layout. The work done by Emery Studios is amazing. I have seen their stuff published in more than one design annual, like The 28th TDC Annual, and Graphis Design Annual 2008.

After Hours Creative

I saw a design by After Hours Creative in the Graphic Design That Works book.I think this site has a very consistent look to it. The white background makes it look kind of plain but if you look at the overall design concept, you see how well the design elements work together. It is neat because there are 5 sections, and in each section there are 5 examples. There are circles throughout and most things are centered.

Bartle Bogle Hegarty

I picked the Bartle Bogle Hegarty site this week because of their layout. When you first go to it you see this round thing, which is supposed to be a globe, and you click on a location. This company has different locations and each page has a uniform design. It really makes it easy to navigate because of the unity in the overall design. I searched for this site because I saw one of their Levi's ads in a book called Advertising.
BBH