URL: http://www.asiasoft.net/en/main_en.htm
What is Asiasoft.net?
AsiaSoft is an online game operator in Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and Malaysia. Its headquarters is located in Bangkok, Thailand.
The more popular game published by Asiasoft.net in Malaysia is MapleSEA.
Other games under it are the upcoming CabalSEA and Ragnarok II SEA.
This is the main page.
Navigations are under the banner, and they light up in red when you rollover.
Sub-menus appear when you rollover as well.
The sidebar consists of a map where users can acess to the Asiasoft.net website pertaining to their own country.
*Sub-menus*
After clicking into one of the sub-pages, the grid is still kept, although the navigations are changed. It was a bit confusing at first, since the navigation bar suddenly disappeared.
Upon further inspection, I found a link back to the main page under the banner, on the right.
By clicking on the logo, one can also access the main page.
However, that fact is not obvious at all.
No rollover effect, nothing to indicate so.
Here's the grid analysis on the main page and the sub-pages.
Main page
Sub page
Overall, I think the site's very clean. Though a bit too clean.
Not that being clean is a bad thing - I think it helps users to find the information they want quickly.
However, from the aesthetic point of view, it loses out slightly.
Although it's consistent with the Asiasoft.net logo, the website is just too white.
Like any other big corporate site that is based in many countries, I think it's nice as they put up links to the individual corresponding site to each country.
2. Gururu Journal
URL: http://www.gloomybear.net/index.php
What is Gloomy Bear?
{ I'm not sure if this is counted as a corporate website, but I've heard of corporate blogs, so I'm wondering if this is counted as well }
Mori Chack is the artist name of a Japanese graphic designer, who was born in Sakai, Osaka, Japan. He is famous for his Chax product line, especially Gloomy Bear, a 2m tall, violent, pink bear that eats humans. The design is an antithesis to the excessively cute products produced by Disney, Sanrio's Hello Kitty, and other companies. Mori Chack believes that humans and animals are incompatible, and an animal is wild by nature. This is expressed most pronouncedly by the Gloomy Bear, which is often shown blood stained and striking humans. Gloomy Bear is also available in different colors with slightly different designs.
*Taken from wikipedia*
This site is a slight mix of a blog and a brand site.
Information of Gloomy Bear ( under the Chax product line ) are posted up as updates.
There are shopping information, medias, FAQ etc.
A sub-section of the Shopping page
The entire site follows one single grid system.
No matter you're browsing the shopping page, or the updates, it's the same.
Grid analysis
There's a sidebar on the left that contains a small calendar.
Through it, users can have fast access to previous updates.
On the right, there is a sidebar with external links.
The site keeps the image of the Gloomy Bear brand.
Gloomy Bear graphics and themes all over.
I really likfe the fact that they kept the same grid system throughout all the pages as well.
3. Loius Vuitton
URL: http://www.louisvuitton.com/
The Louis Vuitton Company (more commonly known simply as Louis Vuitton) is a luxury French fashion and leather goods brand and company, headquartered in Paris, France.
As soon as I got to the site, I fell in love with the grid.
Personal preference of non-scrolling sites.
All the pages do not need unneccessary scrolling.
The grid is consistent as well, as you can see from the analysis below.
Just that sometimes, an extra sidebar appears in the content area.
I think it's a good way to keep the consistency of the site.
From the brand name, to the navigations to the content.
Simple yet nice.
Althought there is a white background, and I did mention earlier how white background seem slightly bland, I think it's alright for this site.
The central section is already filled with boxes of images and flash, the white helps tone it down.
4. Pepsi Malaysia
URL: http://www.pepsimalaysia.com/
The Malaysian-based website of Pepsi.
A sleek, shiny, cool-blue site with spiffy button rollover-effects.
Here's the main page.
After clicking into one of the submenus, the grid changes.
The grid is the same for all the sub-pages.
Despite the fact that the navigations move to another location when a sub-page is clicked, because this is a flash website - the user KNOWS where the navigations went.
Like I mentioned before, the sub-pages have a completely different grid compared to the main page.
Yet, because of the animation, it makes it less confusing.
5. Nitendo
URL:
Nintendo Company, Limited s a Japanese multinational corporation founded on September 23, 1889 in Kyoto, Japan by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce handmade hanafuda cards. Over the years, it became a video game company, growing into one of the most powerful in the industry and Japan's third most valuable listed company with a market value of more than $85 billion. Aside from video games, Nintendo is also the majority owner of the Seattle Mariners, a Major League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington, USA. They are also the partial owner of the Atlanta Hawks, an NBA team based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
The main page and the sub-pages have the same hierarchy.
The only difference in grid happens ever so insignificanly.
It's either a different column system in the content section, or the sub-navigation bar.
Like the Gururu Journal, it has a second navigation bar at the bottom of the page, followed by the disclaimer.
The basic grid is like this:
Just the variation of columns and rows in the content section.
It is also might WHITE like the asiasoft website, but because the contents are much more compared to asiasoft's website, it doesn't look so empty.
Of course, I think a bit more design elements wouldn't hurt.
I really like the way they have little boxes for each specific information they want to present.
And despite that many boxes, because they are still following the grid - it doesn't seem messy at all.
The navigations on top are also nicely planned in my opinion.
They didn't cram "What is Wii and NDS" in one single "Products" section, but seperated them.
And in the Wii page, much more information can be accessed to from the sub-navigations.
~ { * } ~
Just a conclusion based on my own opinions:
I think the most important thing a corporate website has to achieve is how to let the user acquire the knowledge they are looking for as easily as possible.
Hence, the grids should be less complicating - same goes with the navigations.
Grids should NOT change much, especially not every page.
It isn't just hard for the user to naviagte, it also gets ANNOYING.
The design should also be clean, but not to say bland.
White is a bit too overrated, but I think with certain extra touches, even a site with white background can seem more interesting.
For example the LV site.
The central part is full of images, flash and videos - the white actually helps to them tone down.
Using graphics that are related to the brand's identity, logo, conept are very helpful in supporting a simple design for these sites.
For example the Gururu Journal.
Each update has a gloomy Bear head next to the date.
Corporate sites aren't always just sleek and elegant.
I think any design goes, as long as the above criterieas are met.
1 comment:
A lot of hardworks and I think you mentioned something important in corporate web site design.
Personally I like LV website very much. Simple site structure and easy navigation. However, I would also say the images/photos are playing a very important role here. There is exactly like what you mentioned:
"Using graphics that are related to the brand's identity, logo, con(c)ept are very helpful in supporting a simple design for these sites."
For Asiasoft... I don't think it is a very good website, kind of boring. As you said, clean yet too clean. The website is not bringing out their CI.
Post a Comment