By: Alexandria Antonacci

I picked Tim Horton’s and Bewley’s as the two coffee chains to review this week. Tim Horton’s is based in Canada and the US while Bewley’s is based in Ireland, Japan, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Tim Horton’s

After the user chooses their native language and location on the simplistic first page they are quickly directed into the site.  The site design holds a well thought out menu. The header and footer pop out of the page in a warm red color contrasting the middle section’s light tone. The use of red on the top and bottom menus is complimented by bits of the color in the center. That center has one large slideshow rectangle on the top left which is balanced by the evenly sized squares surrounding it. This site requires a minimal amount of scrolling, creating an easy to use, easy to find what one needs menu. The fact that it’s so simple makes the user feel less overwhelmed at first glance.

Bewley’s

When the user enters Bewley’s site the first element they will notice is the use of a number of visually appealing images on the slideshow at the very top of the page. The purple color scheme centers ones attention to the white page in the middle. The purple headings and purple text jump out of the white page but still blend with the overall layout. The center is organized with two horizontal rows of four square links. This placed in the center keeps the user’s attention with simple ways to show where the one should click next. At times the design seems too simple with the text above the squares in an unimpressive left alignment.

In conclusion I find that Tim Horton’s site was by far the most effective site to use out of the two. Although both sites hold a quite similar layout, Tim Horton’s was overall more impressive. The moving graphics, quick-paced slide show and centered menu can be exceedingly appealing to any user.