Website Critique

The site I chose to write about is one that branches off of the main Alfa Romeo website. http://www.experience159.com/main

There are many factors that contribute to the success of this site. I believe that the main reason this site stands out to me is the amazing graphics used throughout this mini site. The site itself is divided into five main sections, and if I could read French I would tell you what they are. The button to each one is made with a unique graphic of the car being advertised. As you roll the mouse over each button you can hear a unique sound effect and an additional graphic appears behind the icon that relates to the image of the icon. Once an icon has been clicked, it slides into the center of the page very smoothly then leads into a cool video/animation that takes us into the next page. Each transition animation is different and interesting to watch.

These secondary pages resemble the icons of the homepage, which is the Alfa Romeo car in some kind of scene with a predominant color. The use of these colors is very effective in creating striking graphics that attract attention to each page. Each of these secondary pages has a few common factors. First is the striking use of color that makes each one stand apart. The second is the subtle animation in the background. On some pages you may see leafs falling onto the scene and another will have rain streaking across the background. Each page also has a well placed quote on the page. In each quote there are certain phrases that are highlighted which if clicked on will scatter and make disappear the words of the quote. Then new words appear and fall into place like a puzzle to form a paragraph of information regarding a certain aspect of the car.

This site was created to advertise a car and is, I think, very successful in standing out and creating something unique. They are able to portray with their graphics and sound effects a car that will stand out but still be classy. The other site I liked was www.betterplace.com. It stood out to me because of their use of black and white images and a blue spot color.