After stumbling onto the Smokey Bones website, it had something that intrigued me to take my coat off and stay a while. I started browsing throughout the site, and then I noticed that the page is just one single page, with a navigation bar using jQuery for the whole page. After realizing this I started to wonder if this layout and concept was a smart decision. This layout works very well for this site but there is so much on the only page that it starts to make the user web-sick after venturing from click to click. Although the jQuery is impressive and really cool, I think there’s too much information on one page and could be improved with a more simple layout or by adding multiple pages. As for the navigation, the user can very easily click on the tabs on the top of the screen and be swept down to where they want to go.
The color & texture on this website is one of the strongest aspects about this page. The color scheme sets the mood very well. Since Smokey Bones is a bar & restaurant, it embraces the dark aspect of a bar but adds a sophisticated twist with the pinch of red. The main color palette is black and red, which fits perfectly for the theme and feel of the restaurant. As mentioned in Chapter 2 of The Principles of Beautiful Web Design, red was a wise choice because the color red increases human metabolism. Additionally, each different ‘page’ has a different background and color scheme which works well with dividing the different sections with obvious subject changes. The textures on the food and backgrounds bring the page to life and make the page more classy and fun (if that’s possible).
Overall, this website is very easy and simple to navigate through while still achieving a fun, upbeat atmosphere without even leaving the comfort of your keyboard. Although the site is fun to navigate through and watch the cheeseburger fall and your beer to be gone, the user starts to feel nauseas from all of the scrolling and fast movement of the jQuery since there is only one page. The color scheme and textures add to the websites as a whole and help achieve the fun, yet sophisticated atmosphere. Lastly, this site impresses you and keeps surprising you even after the love-at-first-click phase.