Walter Smith takes quite exceptional pictures, and seems to shoot some interesting moving pictures as well, but somehow all his skill is devoured by the interface of his flash driven site. The design looks really great, I like the little arrow, and I also like that the way the typography cuts into the random cover images once the user finds out how to activate the popup. The user also soon finds out that moving the mouse to the left or to the right triggers subsections of the site (Print or Photo). It all feels very much like a fun interface at first, but then the pictures that pop up are so tiny, the sections jump, the logic of the interface feels puzzling. Oh. I think I am going to maybe request a portfolio, just to look at the images in person, on paper, human size.
Or is it me? Is the site navigation actually great? Am I not intelligent enough to see the brilliance of the information architecture? Tell me.
highly agrivating.
difficult is okay if it's subtle.
Ouch. Hurts the eyes. Nothing to focus on. I had to close it out quickly.
Posted by: rob on September 27, 2002 10:21 PMNo, it's not just you. The site is really close to being really good. But if just a handful of people had looked at it before it went up, Walter could have avoided the thrashing we're all giving him. Switching between the two sections should be done with a click of the mouse not a mouseover. And, yes, I'd like larger images of the photos to popup. The "enlargements" are not all that much larger than the previews.
His photgraphy is okay. Certainly professional, but it didn't really bowl me over. That's a lot to ask, of course.
You shouldn't have to be "intelligent enough to see the brilliance of the information architecture." If its well done, you won't notice it at all.
Posted by: Todd on September 28, 2002 04:06 PMI don't think I'm quite ready for this type of navigation. I sat for 5 minutes waiting for the Flash to loadup and realised I was suppost to click on the word "film" or "print", and I don't really like those scrolling links either, I can't nab the one I really wan't to see. Why can't people just display things to show natural beauty and form? I'm not anti Flash, but Flash is there to enhance not detract.
Posted by: sian on September 29, 2002 08:06 AMI usually don't even give Flash sites the time of day, because most sites that are Flash driven tend to use the technology in a way that makes you have to guess the navigation. I'd rather use my time enjoying the photos than having to find my way through a maze. Besides that, during the day I'm on a 56K modem and waiting for a Flash site to load is not going to happen.
Posted by: Dawn on October 1, 2002 09:25 AM