If you've spent any amount of time playing with the Internet Archive's WayBackMachine, you probably have a good sense of how much web design has changed. Mercifully, many disturbing techniques have gone by the wayside, including listing information vertically to force endless user scrolling and presenting text in overburdened blocks that serve only to annoy and intimidate the reader.
As in the early days of the internet, the primary goal of most sites is still to share information. The way in which it's presented, however, has dramatically evolved. Thanks to advanced rich media technology, increased bandwidth among the masses, and a greater understanding of consumers' desire for visual information, the emphasis is on the graphical elements of a site page more now than ever before.
News and information, with a twist
This trend is being tracked across industries and content segments as marketers and publishers seek out distinctive ways to exhibit both their imagery and information consumers are accustomed to receiving in text form. One example of this is the recently launched visual search engine Spezify.com.
Users input their desired search term into the provided field the way they would with any search engine. Instead of receiving a text-based list of results, however, they are presented with a collection of images, videos, and Twitter posts related to the search. If a foreign tourist planning a vacation wanted to experience New York's Times Square before committing to a plane ticket, a Spezify search would do the trick. The results paint a vibrant picture that's about as true to life as you can get.
In the same vein as Spezify is MSNBC's Spectra, a "visual newsreader" that presents news headlines in an enticing way. Spectra can be customized by the user to display headlines from any number of news categories like politics, entertainment, travel, and sports, as well as videos and blogs. Once a custom news feed is created, the user can change the view and alter the orbital settings of a series of rotating boxes, each of which holds the words of a headline. To view the full story, the user simply clicks on the box to visit MSNBC.com.
The visual online marketplace
Ecommerce companies long ago realized that there's value in displaying multiple images in association with products being sold online. Display those graphics in a way that promotes user interaction, and you've got yourself an engaging online retail site. Online marketplace Etsy does a wonderful job of presenting the handmade products created by its sellers in a visual way through two exciting site features.
In the Showcase section of the Etsy site, product images are placed front and center and expand to reveal additional information, including other products from the same Etsy seller, all without necessitating a click. The process serves to pre-qualify visitors to individual Etsy seller pages, as well as gives new visitors a visual overview of the type of products they can expect to find on the site.
The Etsy Time Machine, meanwhile, allows users to view recently listed items in a dramatic interactive Flash format. Image thumbnails of products and the time at which each was posted to the site appear in a spiral that can be manipulated by dragging the individual graphics across the page. A click to an image brings it to the foreground and reveals further product information, including price and a link to the seller's Etsy page. With its hypnotizing momentum, and the friction and bouncing effects that the user can induce, the Etsy Time Machine seems to borrow from physics to deliver a truly unique online shopping experience.
A brand site with style
Japanese clothing manufacturer Uniqlo's brand site also offers two effective illustrations of the marketing applications of online visual representation. To promote its spring 2009 parka collection, the brand created a Tokyo Fashion Map that displays 1,000 men and women dressed in 1,000 different parka styles. Short videos of these average consumers modeling the parka in various locales cover the page like animated wallpaper before automatically scrolling across the screen. Users can click to pull up a product catalogue that links back to the brand's online store.
Similarly, to promote its bra tops, Uniqlo assembled images of Japanese consumers clad in its products and created a compelling visual presentation that's perpetually in motion. The images converge to create spheres and geometric shapes, all while fulfilling their purpose of displaying the brand's apparel to consumers.
If, as interactive marketers, we could visualize what the internet will be years from now, I'm certain that visual information will hold a place of prominence. As we continue to create stimulating interactive features to promote our products and services, we realize that there isn't an industry, vertical, or content model that wouldn't benefit from a more illustrative approach to web design.
David Rossiter is creative director at Enlighten.
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