Webreview Part 1:

Ideo: "We help companies innovate. We design products, services, environments and interactions."

First thing I thought when I saw the Ideo website is why should I trust them to design for other companies when their own homepage is stifled by images and bizarrely structured menus? A harsh first impression, after a while there was some method to their madness, the constant menus at the bottom made things easier to navigate even if the options had pretentious sub titles like focus, thinking and approach. The most appealing thing about the Ideo website is this subtle blending of HTML and what appears to be flash or Java to create a strange interactive hybrid. Ultimately Ideo's design is flawed by at its attempt of originality by presenting a lack of consistency, ease of navigation and negative space.

Sony.co.uk

Initially I quite liked the look of the Sony site, a nice clear simple uncluttered presentation but it all went a bit pear shaped when I clicked on any of the three main links at the top. Clicking on said link would not change the page, instead it would pull down a small page over the top of the original page and presented you with new information. This function serves no benefit what so ever, the information underneath is no longer useful as it is almost completely obscured and the new window is compressed into a small space for no reason. I felt they really shot themselves in the foot with that one. The Sony.com website on the otherhand, while the initial display was a little bit almost "coverflow" (but that seems to be where design is heading), the navigation was simple and straight forward.

Apple.com

The apple is a classic example of effective website design, everything is clear, consistent and easy to navigate. The website has a connecting theme through out, although there is no default template there is a clear connection between each page making them familiar and non-threatening. A clear menu at the top defines and categorizes content effectively making it easy to find what your looking for. The apple website appears to adequately sum up the apple design ethos of simple yet effective design. Although I don't like the look of the new Mac books... but that's just me.

NTU Online Workspace - NOW

To be brutally honest, I really hope that there is some kind of long term plan for now because presently NOW is step backwards from VLP. All the information the average student is looking to find is hardest to find, i.e email and time tables are in tiny font above the website header, when they would be far more suited on the front page as expandable widgets in the sidebars, like before in the VLP. Visually speaking, NOW does look a lot more presentable but it's the functionality that students are looking for, not the presentation. Facebook is never going to win a beauty contest but it's probably the most viewed website by students today.