Homepage Research: Makeup Forever

Makeup Forever:

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© 2013 MAKE UP FOREVER

Critique: My favorite part of this homepage is that the ads center around one featured product. For a cosmetic company that only distributes their own products, I think this is a good strategy. I also like the ad backgrounds matching the grey and black theme. I am a little disappointed in the rest of the site, though. It's laid out well, everything being easily accessible and neat, but that's easy when there's not much to the site. It seems boring because there's a lot of unused space, and the thick gray border takes away from any sleek appeal the ads are offering. 

Homepage Research: Ulta

Ulta:

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Copyright © 2000-2013 ULTA Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, INC.

Critique: The muted gray and orange colors aren't bad, but it'd be better if they were carried throughout the site a little better, like having the ads match that color scheme instead of being pink. Also, like most cosmetic websites, this one has no background. Backgrounds can help keep a theme flowing throughout a page, as well as help identify one company's site from another, so I don't agree with most cosmetics sites having blank backgrounds. One last thing that kind of annoys me is the navigation  The boxes don't change size according to how long the word is, so the links look a little disorganized/cluttered. Aside from the, the page is very well organized. The mass number of product ads is kept manageable with various sizes and presentations, from a fading ad to a three category page viewer at the bottom. And despite the ads following a different color scheme from the rest of the site, they at least match each other, which helps keep it all together,

Homepage Research: Coastal Scents

Coastal Scents:

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No site creator provided, just copyrighted by the company itself.

Critique: I've used this site on occasion, and the products I've received have been pretty decent. However, I'm hesitant to continue being a consumer because the site itself still makes me question the quality of its products. The colors are bland, the font used for the company banner isn't very attractive, and the product ads are presented all in the same size, going straight down the page. The layout of each ad is cluttered, and I look passed them entirely just to find what I'm looking for, so they cause no desire to browse. The sidebar isn't a bad idea, but they don't pull it off; there's no flow to it. The first couple are alright, all being relate to shipping and what you're about to purchase, but then it goes to a randomly placed Pinterest link, Google link, and a testimonial bit. If they wanted to include the rest of that stuff, it'd be better to present them separately, rather than shoved at the bottom. I could go on, from the boring fonts used to the disorganization of the banner - the list would go on. There doesn't seem to be much thought put into this site at all.

Homepage Research: Smashbox

The second homepage entails anything commercial. Makeup is most available to me, and I've spend a lot of time researching makeup, so it seemed to be the best choice. The problem I've discovered in this research is that most home pages for cosmetics and beauty are laid out in a nearly identical format; Company over navigation, large ad, three smaller ads underneath, all aligned in the center. So, I was happy to find a site that was a little different.

Smashbox:

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Website creator unknown, probably produced by the company itself.

Critique: Like it's name, Shashbox's homepage is bold, and maybe a little intense. The white on black makes everything come at you as an expression, and the all caps, bold and stretched out type pronounces this more.  People like their makeup strong, so I guess this could be a good marketing strategy. I do like the organization with the images; how the series of ads on one panel are all of one category of cosmetics, and how it's presented as a flip book. The navigation does well in standing out with the contrasted black text on white, but the font on it, while matching the rest of the page, isn't easy on the eyes.

Homepage Research: Bonobo

Bonobo:

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Website provided by CrowdSurge Services. 

 http://www.crowdsurge.com/services/?menu=services

Company that provides digital advocacy and ticket distribution for artists, musicians, and such.

Critique: They used a zoomed-in image of their most recent album cover as the banner background, which I find to be a very good idea. This frames the video of a new song, which is neatly aligned alongside the full album cover and a link. To me, this the perfect presentation for a music artist's website; their newest release front and center, with a sample and a link to purchase it. The text underneath incorporates the album's green color,  against a white gradient background. This counters nicely to the light text on dark background that the banner above has going on. The information presented continues to be important enough for the front page, being tour dates and news and such. With organization like this, the site fits the simplicity of the band's music, which is the most important; it probably attracts the type of crowd the music is for.

Homepage Research: Dream Theater

Dream Theater:

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Site provided by Reccenter

http://www.reccenter.com/

Agency that provides social media advertising to clientele.

Critique: The banner is the best part of the webpage, simply because of how the tight rope divides it from the background. The background itself is an image of the sky, which plays well to the banner. The last detail I like about this page is that the menu floats as an underline against the band name using the same font and design as the band name itself. Other than that, I only see negatives. The social media links at the top look as much out of place as the obligatory ad underneath the banner, and the information just runs down the page in a white block. Nothing else in the homepage is incorporated with the theme, and I quickly lose interest.

Homepage Research: Muse

Muse:

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Website origins unknown

Critique: Muse's site is organized really well, and I like the subtle lines above each category to help separate them. The lines might also be there to tie in with the band logo. Though I like large and graphic banners, their moderately sized and simple band name logo stands out just enough; it's offset from the rest of the page simply because of its slightly bigger size and bold lines. The navigation isn't bad, either, and I like that it remains uncrowded by the mass of info underneath. Overall, Muse's site carries its theme of bold simplicity very well. I don't the background, though. It ruins the organization by making the page look busy. I feel like it's suppose to create an optical illusions towards the center, but that just might be from staring at it for too long.

Homepage Research: A7X

Currently in class, we're studying the design of homepages. The first of the three categories is music related, so I've decided to make a site based on my friend's metal band and research various band sites that seem relevant to my friend's music style, as well as those I find interesting.

Avenged Sevenfold:

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Website by TWENTYFOURCORE PRODUCTIONS

http://www.twentyfourcore.com/

Production service that provides publicity and digital advertising to bands like A7X, Disturbed, and Staind.

Critique: I like how the band name is bold and center with a metallic gradient. It has a presence that relates to the band's style of music, which can be considered metal, and stands apart from the rest of the page without clashing. The image behind it is placed well, as it frames the name with the band's death bat mascot. The menu above having similar copy style as the band name creates a nice flow and is easy to find against the rest of the page. I really like urban grunge styles, and this site carries that theme all throughout the page without being too busy. I would change the side borders, though. Having two different designs for each side of the page does ruin the flow a little. Instead, I'd probably prefer to have the clouded background of the band name banner stretch to fill the page, rather than cutting off abruptly into the center black background.