Design Research: ten design firm websites

Osborne & Little
This is definitely my kind of web site because of the simplicity but not the kind that you are instantly confused by. I really like the color scheme because the colors themselves are pleasing to me and my taste. The three main colors are black, brown, and a darker magenta. I think these colors work well together especially with the textiles that the company is trying to sell. They chose pictures of furniture that had a similar darker magenta color so that the pictures would be able to look like they belonged with their surroundings. My favorite part about this site is on the main page where you are presented with a slide show type thing that continuously displays images of furniture that is upholstered with textiles from this company.

Poltrona Frau
This is furniture design firm which this exact one is the New York location. I would have to say that I do not like this web site because it is the type that you have to click the enter button. I do not see the point of having to click enter to actually enter to site. Every time I visit a web site of this sort I am all the time thinking that it is out of order or it is still loading. The enter button is usually so tiny that you don't even see it sitting on the page. The only reason that I can think of is that they do not want to just send you straight to the main page and that they want to give you a heads up warning. I do not like this thought because I would just rather go straight to the site. After clicking enter you see a series of three pictures that continuously changing. The only problem is that they did not leave enough time to see all three pictures in one round. I would like for the pictures to run continuously but when the mouse is moved on top of the image then it stops so you can click it and maybe enlarge it.
Source: Wallpaper http://frauusa.com

Baker
This is another example of the type of sites that I am not too fond of. I do not like arriving to the site and being confused on what I am supposed to be clicking. Even though it looks simple it is quite complicated in the fact that clicking once will send you somewhere that will then send you somewhere else. The contents of the web site do not bother me so much as long as I can understand how to get to them. I think that the black and white on the site gives a feeling of elegance. The thumbnail pictures of the furniture are in black and white which ties into the main colors with the elegant feeling. The site has a neat room planning feature that helps fix confusion and able someone to plan out their room.
Source: House & Garden www.baker furniture.com

Larson Juhl
This web site consists of one of my absolute favorite color combinations which happens to be baby blue and brown. Similar to the Natuzzi web site this one also has soothing music upon arriving to the web site. This relates to the soothing pastel colors that make their way through the site. Although this site sounds as if it would be some kind of international firm it is really a design firm that designs frames both empty and full. The frames in the images are so beautiful. Seeing these pictures makes me want to design frames. I would have never considered this firm to be considered a design firm. I would have to agree now that I had looked through the site more that they should most definitely be considered a design firm. The ability to navigate through the site might slightly be denied because the main page has so much writing and wording. This is too clutered, which caused me to have a harder time trying to find my way through the site.
Source: House & Gardens www.larsenjuhl.com
ai3
Although Lucy Aiken-Johnson was a speaker for us I was encouraged and driven to visit her firm's web site and see the work in which they have completed. The web site is very simple yet to the point. The web site itself is simple enough that one can easily navigate their way throughout the site. There is not much interactivity which is something that I personally like in certain situations. I think this particular site could use some interactivity so they can get the viewers involved. I like how they have a section titled portfolio devoted to showing the viewers all their work. Since they are still a new firm they do not have much work completed and this is why everything is on the site now. The web site has two main colors that are presented throughout the entire site. The one main color being orange and the other being a greenish brown. I think it was smart to stick to these two colors throughout the entire site because it gives it a sense of unity overall. My main attraction to the site was the simplicity.
Source: www.ai3online.com

Natuzzi
When first arriving to the site soothing music begins to play as you are navigating through the site. This is the type of site that when first arriving you must choose either a country or a language. Then from there you can choose from different headings that include such things as products, collections, or finding of stores. My favorite aspect about the site is that the pictures appear to just be sitting there but when you move your mouse over them they move up and down so you can see more of the image. After selecting the collection heading images come up that look like a short movie or commercial. They are not continuously moving but the people in the picture change positions every few seconds. This is what makes them look as they are a commercial for the firm. I feel that navigating through these types of sites are too much work because you click one thing then it takes you to a list of other things that are then supposed to click something else. So the only main thing I like about this site are the moving images and the ones that you can interact with.
Source: www.natuzzi.com

Drexel Heritage
I found that I really liked the work and the web site of the Drexel Heritage Furniture Design Firm. The web site itself is a little bit more people friendly in that everything is easy to navigate through. Some of the larger firms have the intricate web sites that are supposed to look simple which can be very cool but sometimes hard to work with. When first arriving to the site I noticed the colors that seamed to be reoccurring throughout the site. The colors are a hunter green and a cream colored tan. They were smart to match the colors in the images to the colors of the site. The two main pictures of furniture each resemble one of the two colors. The top one has green upholstered chairs and the second picture has the tan upholstered sofa. This was my favorite thing about the site although it is just a simple touch that was added. The other main thing for their site is a room planning interactive tool. You can go in a choose a room and then change the wall dimensions. Then from there you can choose furniture and place it in the room. Although the site is quite simple I think it has effectively made it's point.
Source: www.drexelheritage.com

Victoria Hagan
I found this website to be very simple, yet successful. When first arriving to the site you see a circle located in the center of the page that is labeled "enter". After choosing this option you come to a screen that simply lists the different categories that the design firm offers on the web site. This is found at the left of the screen while at the right you see several circles lined up which each represent a different picture. I find the reoccurring theme of the circles to be quite pleasing. The circles are gray on a white background. This choice of color helps focus my mind on the central idea. I also appreciate the web site having examples of their work but also the division between residential and corporate buildings.
Source: www.victoriahagan.com

Alias Design
The background is mostly white with the main focus colors being black and blue. The color choice helps ones eye to see these colors off the white first. The site seems to be set up pretty well because the home page is divided into two parts of the firm all by the click of a word. After further navigating into the site I became confused with all the different options that I had to click on. This is the only downfall.
Source: www.aliasdesign.com

Interior Reflections
I appreciate the web site having pictures of their work on the home page. This is what caught my attention when I first saw the site because right off the bat I was able to decide that I liked their style of design. I also like the fact that they include a link to photos of before and after shots of the work that their firm has completed. With this aspect one is almost able to decide immediately if they would like to send work to this firm.
Source: www.interiorreflections.com