The future frontier
- Ruby Blessing
- 24 September 2008
- Page 1 of 2 : single page
I am writing to you, dear reader, from the outer most reaches of the digital domains where I am currently stranded, albeit happily, with a tribe of creative cannibals who trawl the nether worlds of the web, popular culture and their own imaginations to create visual feasts of terror and beauty.
I set off on my expedition to find great design and cool applications but nothing could prepare me for the anarchy that I found in these wild and uncharted virtual badlands.
So strap on your Flash1 helmets, fire up the broadband and prepare yourself as I try to relay, through my notes and observations, my journey to the future.
The Navigation Pirates
Even though the expedition master, Sergeant Jake Kneelson2, had provided a detailed map to assist in the navigation of these wild lands, our party was soon ambushed by a motley band of Navigation Pirates.
At first we were quite afraid of their blatant disregard for conventional site navigation, but once we got to know them we found they were just a group of friendly, fun-loving designers pushing the envelope to deliver exciting and memorable website experiences.
They revealed to us the Secret Islands of Alternative Navigation, where navigation is an exploration rather than a linear experience. As we travelled to the various ‘sites’, I did my best to detail topography and features of interest as best I could in the notes that follow.
www.urbansilo.com
This navigation pirate has used a carousel metaphor to help site visitors get around. While some parts may not be successful, overall it’s an imaginative way to get around a large amount of content. Notes: Many interfaces are beginning to use the
carousel metaphor to assist the explorer in finding hidden content or highlighting topical stories.
www.gotcharacter.sg
A cute site that uses a constantly changing thread metaphor for the navigation.
Notes: Stepping outside of the traditional navigation can really work if you give the user a constant to assist in the journey.
www.mca.com.au
Successful combination of traditional layout and innovative navigation. Notes: The clever navigation helps reinforce the ‘contemporary’ in MCA without trying to be an artwork in its own right.
www.erwinbauer.com
Completely disregards the concept of horizontal and vertical scrolling. Click on the bottles on the homepage and watch these clever Germans use the entire screen – even the parts you cannot see. Notes: The unexpected adds magic, while the addition
of arrows gives the user control.
www.piclens.com
A visual navigation tool that beats scrolling and paging hands down. Try browsing a Google image search using this browser plugin. Notes: Browsing content within a 3D space is a dynamic way to find what you are looking for quickly. Add a touch
screen and it’s the future. See also: msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/components/spectra/spectra.html
Wonderweb Mall
In the centre of these outlands, I was very surprised to discover a sprawling shopping complex, the Wonderweb Mall. Here you can buy anything you need (legal or otherwise) in online shopping experiences that go beyond the predictable and expected. I live in the hope that some day the online shopping experience can be as easy, exciting and imaginative for everyone.
www.terryrich.com.au
As lovely as a summer breeze, this Australian-owned business sells resort wear with a promise of lazy days on the beach and balmy nights by the pool.
Notes: This is a truly integrated shopping experience. The brand essence is woven throughout.
www.charmingwall.com
A New York gallery that represents a diverse group of fine artists with a beguiling online store. Even the buy-now button is charming and hard to resist.
Notes: Agreeable, alluring, attractive, beautiful, captivating, enticing, inviting are all synonyms for ‘charming’ which should apply to all online shopping sites.
www.redbubble.com
RedBubble is an open and inclusive website where you can share your creative genius with the world. And sell it too. Notes: Power to the people.
The Flash Tribes
Everywhere on our travels, we encountered intensely creative nomadic tribes of Flash designers. These web wunderkinder roam the outlands using their skills at magic and illusion to create web artefacts of wonder and beauty. Unlike their distant cousins back in the everyday, they have scant respect for rules (or bandwidth!). Their most revered gurus and acolytes constantly vie to outdo each other – they even have their own top-40 chart, designcharts.com.
Each encounter with a new tribe was both unpredictable and exciting. These intelligent and inventive digital natives combine sound, movement, animation and video into amazing, funny and often exciting interfaces.
The most prolific are the professional portfolio tribes. These flamboyant risk takers are all about the ritual of self-promotion.
www.fromscratch.us
Simple use of video as a background and nice navigation. Notes: Video used in backgrounds in corporate sites could enhance branding and user engagement.
www.anovadesign.com
Danish designer Jesper Bentzen has turned a simple resume into a wonderful experience. Notes: Simple interaction used to great effect can be all a site needs to go from basic to beautiful.
www.designbolaget.dk
Gorgeous images. Simple navigation. Great site. Notes: If you have a visual brand or product, use it to your advantage.
ff0000.com
An interactive agency based in LA, which actually allows users to register and roam around the site and even talk to other users; it’s almost anarchy. Notes: Having users advocate your product and brand to other users, in real time and 3D virtual
space will become the rule rather than the exception.
mediaboom.com
It might seem retro, but this site is more than meets the eye. Notes: The addition of simple, but fun elements will help to keep the visitor on the site and explore further.
