Thursday, February 16, 2017

WEEK 4A: AESTHETIC, DESIGN AND BRANDING

The two websites I chose to identify the problems for visitors are:
Penny Juice and Spot Metering.

WWW.PENNYJUICE.COM
1) It is a very poorly designed website. I would be surprised if they get any sales from it. The Home Page doesn't explain at all what the Website is all about.
It should have more content explaining what they are trying to sell.
Improvement: They should put on their Home Page more information about the company and the product they are trying to sell. Offering more information would make consumers interested and willing to navigate further.

2) Very confusing. Too much going on at the same time.
The HTML version is already too much, when you click on the FLASH version you can barely stay on the page. Contrast may be a good thing to catch consumer's attention but they went way overboard with all the flashy colors, it hurts the eyes.
I also don't like the font they chose and how the text is so close together, there are no spaces between paragraphs.
When I look at their pages, I don't even feel like reading them.
Improvement: They should definitely reduce the amount of colors, use more elegant and subtle colors. Choose a better font and give more space between paragraphs to make it easier to read and less confusing.

3) There aren't many links, very hard to navigate.
Improvement: They should add links to the Home Page and all other pages so we can navigate better between them and find what we need.

WWW.SPOTMETERING.COM
1) It is also a very poorly designed website. It is not visually appealing at all.
It is very busy, with very poor choice of colors and fonts. The flash feature on top of the Home Page is totally unnecessary and disturbing. The links on top are also really unattractive.
The mixed bright colors fonts against the black background and the way they mix all kinds of different font types and sizes is really annoying. You don't feel like reading anything at all.
For photographers that normally have good eyes for pictures and colors they will probably get shocked and run away from that site in an instant.
Improvement: I would start designing that website from zero and choose everything different. I would start looking for a nicer Page Layout that is clear and professional. I would change the background, font colors and types and remove all those flash features.

2) The whole page is very confusing, not user friendly at all. In this website they used way too much content on the Home Page having to scroll down for a long time to find something. It's important to have content but also organize that  content in a way that doesn't get confusing for consumers so they don't get lost and frustrated.
Improvement: I would organize the content of this website in a more structured way so users can find the information they need in a easy and logical way.

3) The way this website was designed does not promote credibility. The branding is very weak and doesn't give users the trust they need to use that product. I don't think I would trust to buy a product from a site like that. When the website doesn't look appealing and professional you wonder if the business is serious and professional as well.
Improvement: After working on the aesthetics of the website I would concentrate on branding that product in a more professional and appealing way so consumers feel like they need to have that product.

The two websites I chose to identify what they have done right are:
Toyota and Apple

WWW.TOYOTA.COM
This company is a no brainer. They probably have the best team working on their website to make it have all the good qualities a website need to be successful.
Aesthetic and branding are awesome: great pictures, great colors. The contrast is just right to catch consumer's attention without being flashy. This website is very effective because it uses aesthetic and branding just right to appeal the target audience.
This website is definitely user friendly. Links are clear and the content is very organized.
Buying a car is a big decision and this website has all the qualities to show consumers that they are very professional and you can trust the company as well as their product.

WWW.APPLE.COM
Just like Toyota Apple also has a great team behind their website design to make it just right. Aesthetic is simple but very elegant, neutral colors and beautiful pictures to makes consumers want to have their product. This website also uses aesthetic and branding in the perfect way to attract its audience.
Website is user friendly, links are clear, content is well distributed within its links making it very easy to find what you are looking for.
Although Toyota keeps their Social Media very active through Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google+ and Instagram, I couldn't find where Apple keeps up with Social Media. I found a Newsroom where they post News about their products and other events but no Social Media. They probably don't feel the need to keep up with Social Media since their product is so well established around the world.

How does design, aesthetics and branding impact your reaction to the websites?

The visual impact is the first impression consumers get from your website, so it has to be visually appealing. It needs to have professional and good looking pictures that are relevant to the website as well as nice backgrounds, fonts and colors. Then it needs structure. A website needs to be easy to understand and navigate. If the content is not presented in a logic and organized way, consumers will get lost, frustrated and they will leave.
And of course it needs interesting and relevant content.
What makes consumers want to visit, stay and come back later to your website is the product and/or information you have to offer. On your website you need to offer something consumers want, need and/or are interested at.
All those features mentioned above are crucial to the success of your website. If you fail to offer that, most likely you will have a hard time keeping your online business.

5 comments:

  1. Agree! I chose these four as well! Penny Juice definitely needs to tone it down a few notches! I think they have a bit too much information and not a lot of content, like imagery and such. Both Penny Juice and Spot Metering needs a retake on their design of their sites. It is very much outdated. I wouldn't like to visit again...I'd avoid it, sadly to say. Apple and Toyota appeals to their target audiences by its user friendly applications and appearance. I love going to these websites when I'm in the market for a new vehicle or technological device! Good Job!

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  2. I agree about the Toyota and Apple Websites. I would expect excellent websites from such large, successful companies. I couldn't find Apple's social media links either. I was surprised since we use their products to access social media in the first place!

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  3. I also think that pennyjuice.com is a poorly designed website. There were so many colors that it was hard to read, and there seemed to be no information although there are words.I like the improvements you suggested.

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  4. Hi! I agree, I found spot metering confusing and intimidating with all that information coming at you on the first page like a tsunami. I didn't know where to start? I always feel in our climate of advance technology, the key is how to simplify this technological process. The more simple and user friendly it is the more I'm tempted to stay and look around. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Hello Priscila
    We addressed the same two websites it looks like. I also found Pennyjuice to really be lacking a lot of things as well. It was hard to navigate and the information was presented in a very confusing manner. If I were to redesign it I’d start it over from scratch and work on the layout. Also, you are right about the colors being way too much on the eyes. In addition spotmetering.com could problem have a lot of the same issues addressed.

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