Week 4: Aesthetics, Design, and Branding

The Do's and Don'ts

Creating a website could be a difficult task for some people. There are a variety of options and designs to choose from. Everyone wants their website to look amazing and show their consumers what they have to offer. Sometimes, with so much going on, a person can lose their idea of what their aesthetic is. Creating a perfect website means that there is a cohesiveness between your brand, aesthetic, and design. Let’s examine 4 websites to look at which websites need improvement and which ones are more appealing to their visitors and customers. Two websites that have potential problems for their visitors are Penny Juice and Jami Lin. Two websites that seem to be doing well are Head Hunter Hairstyling and Apple.

Things not to do. . .

First, let’s take a look at the Penny Juice website. This website is a prime example of a website that has too little. On their home page, they offer little information about their product, but already have an “Order Now” button. The tabs at the top are helpful because if you want more information, you can click another tab to find it. However, the initial presentation when you first enter the page can lose some potential customers because of the lack of information. I would have liked to learn more about the company along with their juice. What is their mission? How did the business start?

Next, let’s look at Jami Lin’s website. This website is a complete opposite from Penny Juice. This website has a lot going on that it can lead potential visitors feeling lost and not knowing where to start. Personally, I was overwhelmed and left feeling like I don’t know what her website is even about.  I can tell this website is about her and everything she has to offer her visitors, but it does lack cohesiveness between the pages and her alignment is all over the place. There was definitely a lot going on and way too many tabs to click. Something she could improve on is organizing her information into these tabs instead of having everything on the very front page.

Things to do. . .

Now let’s examine Head Hunter Hairstyling. Right off the bat, I know this is a hair salon. The website is neat and organized. The home page gives me a little bit of information about the business and at the top there are tabs for “services”, “stylists”, “about”, “gallery”, and “contact”. It’s very easy to navigate, and their pages are cohesive with repetition. It doesn’t make me feel like I’ve left their page for another one.

Apple is a very popular company who have thousands of customers around the world. It’s no shock that their website has a lot of great examples of what can be done on a website. They hit all the check boxes when it comes to concept, contrast, repetition, proximity, typography, ease of use, and depth of content. Everything is organized into different tabs based on their category. Even though they provide visitors with a lot of information, you don’t get overwhelmed on page because they hold just enough information.