The boss wants to redesign his website

abstractjames

New Member
We are a mid-level design firm. The boss wants to redesign our current website. Most of our websites are WordPress based and have a consistent look about them. Think Twenty-Ten.

The website the designer took to the boss, as his inspiration was this website: http://www.rodgerstownsend.com

The boss really identifies with the squares.

I want to know what you guys feel. Is this Rodgers Townsend a successful design or not. Why or why not? Please give me your opinion from the perspectives of a client, a potential client, and as a designer.
 

chrishirst

Well-Known Member
Staff member
I want to know what you guys feel. Is this Rodgers Townsend a successful design or not

As a concept? Yes.
As a usable website? Not at all.

It fails on being 'usable' for the very same reasons the 'Metro' interface of Windows 8 has failed to gain wide acceptance.

There are no visual clues of what to do next, no guidance to what anything means. The "seven second" rule still applies to commercial webpages, where, if you haven't guided the visitor on what to do in the first seven seconds, you have lost their attention and they WILL leave the URL.

My opinion can be summed up in one phrase.

"It's too 'kewl' for it's own good".

If your site is there for entertaining visitors for a short while, fine. If it is commercial and you want conversions of any kind, leave 'kewl' well alone for a few more years at least.

When 80%+ of the human interface devices are "touch screen", the "sliding block puzzle" (Metro) look may just get usable, but while the overwhelming majority of physical UIs in use are keyboards, mice and a plain old monitor, the WIMP (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointers) environment is not going to go away.
 
Ill take what chris said a step further. I go to the home page and have NO idea what the hell this guy ( guys girl company??)even does.
 

TalentedSingers

New Member
http://www.rodgerstownsend.com

This business/commercial layout/design is the beggist shiit of all the shiits (maybe), this is not good example even for correct business/commercial layout/design. Such webpage I would leave already in 2 SECONDS, even if I would be looking for some business company, not an entertainment.

Because, on business/commercial layout/design should be the important information written CLEARLY (BIG LETTERS). Not some cold stupid big pictures and the important text (links) written with very small letters. That's how it should NOT be. I know this is the trend/fashion of business/commercial layout/design. But VERY STUPID. The same stupid way for customers like the fashion when females were wearing snow shoes in the summers (do you remember?) (such stupid fashion was last summers). Females were wearing these shits, to be "IN" (because such people do not have own real personality = stupid flock of sheep), in spite of the fact that fashion was VERY UNCOMFORTABLE (of course, tooo hot in the summers in the show-shoes). The same STUPID LEVEL of the trend/fashion of business/commercial layout/design is now, even though people do NOT like it. All the design/advertising companies (=flock of sheep) do make such shits, just because this is the trend/fashion, even though people do NOT like it.
 
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