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

Hornall Anderson Design Works

Hornall
I like this site a lot because of the splash entrance, animation, rollovers, and the diagonal box for the overview that comes up each time you look at their work. As you can see, I like much of this website. Their design work is very good, and they do work for famous names like Pedigree dog food and T-Mobile. I found some of their work in a book titled, Design Basics, and I searched for their site.

Eat Design

EAT DESIGN
I found this site in the Design Basics book. I enjoyed the animated splash page with the boxes that popped up over the EAT logo. They have very easy navigation and I like the different shades of gray. The only thing I would change is to make their work pictures larger, but right now it fits in with the layout.

Willoughby Design

I think this web site is easy to navigate even though there is more clicking than usual to get to images of their work. All the links stay in the same place and the names of the links are self explanatory. I also like how the text is small and the artwork is big so it can have all the focus on it. I saw a design from this company in a book called The Art of Design. The website is Willoughby.

Chocolate/Watts Design

I was looking at the Graphis Design Annual 2008 and I was drawn to the chocolate! Actually, What got my attention was the different images for each piece. I looked for the company's website on google, and was successful. The site is Watts Design. I really like the site because of the simple layout and the animation is the icing on the cake. It makes it really fun to search through the site. It reminds me of the way Steve wants to do Joan's site with the slide effect. Also, the design firm's work is not bad.

Below is the image from the Graphis Design Annual 2008.

Henderson Bromstead Art

When I first went to this site I thought it would not work because of the image that showed up on screen. It says to go to their previous site, which I did and then I found it. I think the website has good navigation and the first image that pops up is a fun little thing to read/look at. I really like their logo design of Norman Stockton that I found in their logos link. The site is Henderson Bromstead Art. I saw art by them in the book titled The Art of Design.

Riordon Design

When I looked trough the Graphis design Annual 2008, I came across a calendar design on p.75. It was credited to Riordon Design, so I located their website, Riordon Design. I really like the layout of this site, it is centered and all the content stays in the box, with the links on the outside of the box in a fun interactive way. I also think it is good how the "box" does not have 90 degree angles, it is curved and goes in and out in certain places, which makes it more fluid and easy for the viewer to follow the links around the box.

Greteman Group

This is the site for Greteman Group. I located some of their designs in The Art of Design. I really like the opening scene on their site with the birds flying, I think it is really fun to watch. One thing I enjoyed was that the sub-links show up when you mouse over the main links, which makes it easier to see if that is the link you want without clicking on it.

Duffy

I located images from this company in the Graphis Design Annual 2008 and found their site, Duffy. I really like how many of their clients are well known and so I have seen their designs in person before. The site has fun navigation and animation to keep you interested in their site. All of the images showcasing their work are really high quality which makes it look very professional.

Stoltze Design

Stoltze Design is the website i found from looking at designs in The Art of Design. I like how this site is set up. The navigation stays in place and also grows as you progress through the site.They also have a good set up for the slide show of images, you see thumbnails and click on one to get the slide show. Also, for some reason I think the font choice works well with the layout.