Monthly Review #2

March 2, 2013 at 2:33 pm · Filed under Monthly Review, Spring 2013 a and tagged: A, Monthly Review, Spring 2013

For my second monthly review, I chose to evaluate the single page Gutshof Klostern website. It can be found either by going on http://onepagelove.com/ or by using the actual URL address, http://www.gutshof-klostern.de. This site was written in German; therefore, I had to translate it to be able to read the content. For this analysis, I will be focusing on how well the website incorporates color and texture, and the overall usability of the site.

At first glance, I found this site to be creative and colorful. I was drawn in by the design and the aesthetic quality. The color palette consists of several shades and tints of brown, maroon, green, pink and blue. The maroon color was used mainly for the headings. As written in the second chapter of The Principles of Beautiful Web Design, “The darker shades of red, such as burgundy and maroon, have a rich, indulgent feel about them.” Due to this statement, I feel that this color choice was a good idea because it might help the viewers feel more indulgent about buying sweets. As for green, the chapter mentioned that it is associated with the environment and symbolizes growth and freshness. This color works well because it helps give off the idea that their products are fresh and organic. It was used to represent leaves throughout the page. Pink was used in moderation for petals and some text. For me, this color symbolizes romance and sweetness. I am assuming holidays are some of their busiest times; therefore, this color was a good choice as well. The one color I was not thrilled about was blue. Returning to the chapter mentioned earlier, it says that blue has a way of decreasing appetite because it is not a common color found in food. When scanning through their page, I found the blue font and butterfly to be out of place with the rest of the elements. Finally, the color brown was used the most in the website. Like most neutral tones, it does a good job of unifying all the colors together. Besides doing a decent job at choosing the right colors, this website also utilizes several good textures.

Texture was one of the first things I noticed about this site. The main textures used for the background were wood paneling and burlap. There were also a variety of other smaller ones added to the plants and food products. The wood paneling was used in several areas to create a rustic, natural feel to the page. By angling this texture, the designer was able to create depth of field. I like this effect because it is common for websites to appear flat and boring. For the rest of the page the background is beige burlap. In a way, this texture works because it does not overpower the content. However, I am little confused on how fits into the theme. As for the plants, my only issue is that some of the petals, leaves, and coffee beans have a blurry look to them. I figured this was done on purpose to continue the idea of depth of field. Personally, I feel that was not the best way to go about it because the blurry look appears fake and it detracts from the design. Overall, the designer attempted to use textures well, but there are a few changes that could be made to improve the design.

As for the usability of the site, my response is about the same. The designer did a good job on creating suitable navigation, but there were a few issues with readability. For navigation, viewers have the option to either scroll downwards or press the tabs at the top to jump to each section. Both ways worked smoothly. The designer used many different fonts throughout the page. I found the one particular calligraphy font to be difficult to read, and it clashed with the font used for the tabs. In addition, I feel the brown button used to show the contact information would be better placed somewhere other than the bottom middle of the page. It covers up the content as the viewer scrolls down. These problems are minor and can easily be fixed.

The designer of the Gutshof Klostern website did good job at capturing the attention of the viewers. For the most part, the color palette and textures worked harmoniously together. The overall usability of the site was good as well. It was mentioned on the website that it was still under construction. Therefore, I am sure some of the problems I have mentioned have already been noted before.

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