Web Design Goodies Critique #28

Web Design Goodies Critique #28

Published March 29, 2001 By Joe Burns, Ph.D.

Greetings, Fellow Designers…

Bang! Zoom! Crash! Pow! Zowie! Zork!

Silence.

I’m glad I ran across today’s site. It illustrates a point I
have been making for a while now about using Flash
animation on a Web site.

Please don’t get me wrong. I love Flash animation. I
think it’s one of the best things to come out in a long
time. I’ve played with it. I can make a little image dance
but that’s about it at this point.

What I want to get into here is how I see Flash being used
on sites these days. I don’t know that I always like how
it’s used.

We’ll see where you sit on the subject.

Now the obligatory release clause statement…

>>>>The critique below represents the opinions of Joe
Burns, Ph.D. Feel free to disagree, argue, forget, or
accept anything he writes. The purpose of the critique is
to offer examples that you may use, repair, or forget
when it comes to your own Web site. As always,
remember that there are simply no hard or fast rules to
Web design. Any choice is the correct choice as long as
that choice aids the user and adds to the site’s purpose for
being.<<<<

Title: Wolf Hill Paintball
Author: Xvision (I didn’t get a real name)

http://www.wolfhillpaintball.net/
Load Time: 16 Seconds, 57kps modem, cleared cache,
2/28/01 10:33AM.
My Screen Size: 1024X768
Browsers Used: Internet Explorer 5.5 and Netscape
Navigator 4.5

Concept: The site is for a new paintball store and range.
I’m actually fairly impressed with the site. Having said
that, the authors can now be secure in the knowledge that
I am not going to talk against them, but rather against
some trends that I see on the Web.

Praise: I chose the site today simply to get into a
discussion about Flash. The site is well put together and
uses dark colors to convey strength. I might suggest a
little lighter color for the text on the gray sections, but
that’s easily fixed. The site is all things paintball for
those who love it. It has a very “X-Games” feel about it.
That’s good. So, the next time you’re in Gallatin,
Tennessee, check out the store. Right now check out the site.

I shall now begin this week’s rant.

There you are, on the Web, surfing away when you arrive
at a site. You click to enter and you’re greeted by:

Loading…
Loading…
Loading…
Skip Intro…

Then, hard thumping music as if Michael Jordan will
appear at any time. Forms fly by. Things spin. Text
enters, leaves, returns, and zips around. The music builds
and things flash faster. Text! Images! Zip! Pow!

Click! Page change.

Web site.

Silence.

How many times have you arrived at a site that did just
that? The site featured today did it. Here are a few
screen captures taken during the ten-second-intro
animation: