OUGD504- Navigation Research

Website navigation tends to err towards a homogenised standard that adopts current best-practice; the primary menu for a site is either at the left or along the top of a design, where users expect to find it. There are obvious benefits to taking this approach, not least the fact that your visitors will immediately understand how to use your navigation.

Use the same navigation model in all your pages. It is very important because without a consistent design, a user may actually think he is in another website. Make sure that you use the same navigation model so that users can easily go about your website without being lost.

http://www.wondros.com/#/home/

This website has creative moving elements that adapt depending where the cursor is moved. My website will have some moving elements so Im looking to see how I can experiment with that.

http://tinyteam.com

This website caught my eye because of the navigation. The swiping windows could be a possibility for my site because it relates to depth and perception as well as being functional and easy to navigate in a intuitive way.

http://minimalmonkey.com

This website is simple in aesthetics and navigation. I am wanting to create a simple site but more interesting than this. However, the I like the saturated colours and type used.

A good navigation system gets you the information you need quickly and easy. A great navigation makes you smile while you're doing it.

http://www.shibui.me/web/scroll/index.html#top

This website has the navigation on the left and works by scrolling down with moving vectors.

This is kind of thing I am wanting to design as I think it would make the content easier to understand and engage the viewer more than just reading text.

http://smartphood.it/index-en.html

This website utilises the way you scroll by revealing the next page when scrolled down. The navigation bar is on the right this time. I think it would depend which side is best depending on where location of the body copy. 

It seems to be a necessity with a website like this so the viewer doesn't have to constantly go back through the screens to get back to specific information.

http://dataveyes.com/en/

Again this website uses the one page scrolling system with the navigation on the left. This seems to be a trend at the moment.

http://www.soleilnoir.net/believein/#/fashion

http://vernonclarke.com

My initial thoughts for the links on my website was to have them at the bottom like the site above. After looking at this website it has confirmed to me that this would not be the best solution. I think the links should be at the top so the viewer knows straight away how to use the site.

http://www.tsto.org/#shapeshift

The image above is what loads up first of all. I tried scrolling up to find out the links which I thought was unusual because if you didn't think to scroll up first you would not know they were there. However the main links are in each corner. I don't think this works to well because the images obstruct the links. However, I like the aesthetic and simplicity of the logo. My site will have a similar feel to the logo.

http://derekboateng.com

I like how this page has the content centred. When you scroll down the link and logo shift to the top of the page to utilise space.

http://adrians.info

I found this nice little website. The homepage just has his contact details and an on/off button, which when pressed opens the following pages.

You have to scroll from left to right, I thought this was different to most websites and might be a good way to link the pages.

http://etchapps.com

I don't like the look of this website but I like the symbols used for the links. There simple and easy to understand which is what my website will need to be for it to be successful.

http://www.carbonstudio.co.uk

On this site the links are round the centre and you have to drag them into the middle to load the next page. This makes you interact with the page and engages the viewer. I could do something similar with the links for my page and have them around the eye.

When you directed to the next page there is a close option at the top right hand corner. This allows you to get back to the homepage. 

http://www.laurab.net

On this site, information is hidden away. To reveal it you click the cross on the right hand side and it slides from left to right. this could be a good way to display the 6 principles so the viewer attention is on the image and not distracted by the text.

The site uses circular button to navigate round the site. I like the buttons but I don't think there function is clear enough.

http://www.hellogoodlooking.fi/#/work/konebox

This website uses a a mind map structure, it expands when you click on each link. I could relate this idea to the physics side of my content to represent the organisation process that the brain takes to process information.