Week Three: Aesthetics, Design and Branding.

For this assignment I reviewed a few sites to express how I perceived the the presentation of the sites.
Some good, some bad. I tried to give my opinion of how they could be improved or what I liked about what they were already doing.

Site #1

Tectorch.com:  TEC Welding Products, Inc.

As I viewed the website in Chrome, the first thing that hit me is that the website has a very dated format with very little graphical structure.  As I looked at the site in more detail, I could see that some of the layout and element were not properly coded so there were missing graphics and broken structure.  The site is overwhelming at first glance with sprawled text and stacked highlighted links.  With these problems it left me with an unprofessional first impression of the company.  This site could greatly benefit from a nice multiple page layout and menu bar with drop down menus. Cleaning up the home page would also improve the sites appearance so that it is clear and crisp and expresses the company’s strengths.  With a nice structure easily navigated through a stylish tool bar and drop menus, this site would represent the company in professional manner.  

Site #2

Exmouth View Hotel

This site also struck me as dated and unprofessional.  The structure, if there is any, is a random spattering of pictures, links, and cheesy graphics. It makes it difficult for a viewer to follow and find what they are looking for.  I did not think that the pictures were of advertising quality.  With the site being poorly put together it would make me suspicious of the quality of the hotel.  They could add some written highlights of why people would visit this area that would be helpful as well.  It looks to me like someone is playing around learning how web coding works.  I would suggest that the site be redone with drop down menus to organize it better.  I would also suggest a slide show style feature with textual description and professional photos.

Site #3

--   Apple.com

This is a clean site nicely laid out and easily navigated.  The home page is a good example of less-is-more with only artistic graphics and a slogan to set the tone.  The use of the multi-page layout and top menu bar navigation makes the site very easy to navigate to what you want and allows appropriate space to highlight the products on each page.  This type of a site expresses professionalism and confidence.  

Site#4

      Ford.com                

In my opinion this is another site that is well laid out and organized.  It has an easy to follow top menu with a multi-page structure.  The graphics are simple but elegant and professional.  The home page is not over whelming but still expresses the company’s strength.  The page design requires minimal scrolling and would be usable across larger and smaller devices.