a-cero

a-cero studio is a website that uses more creative features than the usual websites i've come across. they definitely used a lot more flash than other websites i've evaluated. the home page i think is very cool and creative, they made an animation of there projects where they transform into framented pieces, creating an abstract composition. there home page has a very simple layout using black background and red text navigation labels. very simple and easy to read throughout the different levels which i liked, and easy to navigate into different sections of the website. one thing i thought was creative is they way they displayed their projects. there projects are displayed in the middle of the page, it starts with a sketch outline of the project, you click on it and the 3d model image appears, and allows the user to then click on the label "see project" which then its broken down into 4-6 labels depending on the project. it allows the user to see it in a 360 view, 3d images, interior, exterior, photographs, and floor plans. i think its a very cool feature because it allows the user to see the project from start to finish. the layout and design of the website definitely reflects the work of the firm. its very clean and crisp throughout the page levels. they use primarily two colors that work well compostionaly and have a great balance of text and images. another feature i like is that you're never lost throughout the levels of navigation because i know sometimes using websites that have been done in flash can be a little complicated to navigate. also knowing that this is an architectural firm's website, imagery should be hierarchical throughout the site which they do just that. keeping the user interested with the use of plenty of computer renderings and photographs. overall the website reads really well and design is well structured by having image on center of the page and text labels on the bottom. if there's one thing i would change is the rotation of the projects in how they are displayed but other than that, its very appealing and clean looking.

pugh + scarpa

This is website by an architecture firm located in santa monica, ca http://www.pugh-scarpa.com. Beginning with the home page, i find it very intriguing and simple to navigate. Their navigation system is very well organized in particular the project section because it allows the user to view by type or by all if preferred. One particular feature i like about the home page is the continuous image change of their featured projects. It kind of gives the user a feel of the type of work they do, and gives them a sense of what the firm is about. the hierarchy of this website are definitely the images of each project. you can tell they like to emphasize there computer renderings and photographs of the projects. another feature i think works really well is when the user hoovers over a certain image the title of the project gets highlighted on the left side of the page which allows the user to know the name of the project. the navigation is very user friendly because the navigation menu is on every page allowing the user to navigate easily and return to previous viewed pages. i also liked the simple use of color by using white and simple grays which works very well gives a good contrast with the images. the structure of the website is legible and very simple having the navigation headers on the left which are highlighted when hoovering over them, the images are layed out on a gridded system in the middle of the page, and all the contact and office information is on the right side. i think the layout structure works really well because its kept constantly throughout all the pages which doesn't confuse the user at all. i think overall pugh and scarpa's website does a good job in emphasizing their projects through high quality images and using minimal and simple colors, and using a very simple layout in displaying their information and imagery.