I found this website in Graphic Design USA's American Web Design Awards issue. The website is for Digital Arts, a large digital imaging company based in New York and New Jersey. The colors of the logo caught my eye immediately, as well as the shape of the logo (a stylized antelope or deer).
The logo is meant to resemble a cave painting, signifying the importance of visual images since early humans. The "About Our Logo" section states, "We at Digital Arts believe that the importance of effective imagery is just as essential today as it was with those first cave paintings over 40,000 year ago. The company is passionate about accurate color reproduction, which is also shown through the logo. I also really like the simple lowercase sans serif lettering used for the company name. I love their logo!
The site's primary menu is at the top and has buttons for ABOUT, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, and CONTACT (and to the right, it says SCROLL DOWN). When you first go to the site, this image below is what you see.
When you scroll, the bar slides up to the top and the logo becomes small and shifts to the right (see image below. When you click on a button, and each becomes a different bright color—blue, pink, gold, or green—when clicked, a translucent page slides down from the top or up from the bottom so you can see the ever-shifting images of their work behind whatever you are reading. It's subtle enough not to be distracting. It's really very aesthetically pleasing. The only exception to the translucent page is the products page because they are highlighting images of their products and you wouldn't want that to be translucent, and the background should be solid so it doesn't distract.
Each of the four main buttons/areas also has other buttons/links you can visit. For example, ABOUT brings up three more buttons: PASSION, FOCUS, and HISTORY (see above again). The buttons don't disappear; the rectangles slide up or down depending on which one you are reading about. Hard to explain.
Anyway, the site is very easy and fun to use, has all of the necessary components, is very professional, has great color continuity and typeface treatment, and makes you believe they are a great digital imaging company.
There are only two things that could be improved, I would opine. The site is somewhat responsive, but not enough for really small screens. Also, when you shift from one area of the site to another via clicking a button, sometimes the screens move really fast to get you to where you're going. I can see they wanted this to look technologically flashy, and it does, but it's just a little bit unsettling. I think if it were just a tad slower, it would be better. Maybe that's just my preference. Their UX team didn't consult with me.
Here are a couple more screenshots:
Source and Credits:
Graphic Design USA, May/June 2014, American Web Design Awards issue. Sponsored by The Creative Group. Print. P. 83.
Design Firm: Mermaid, Inc., New York NY
Client: Digital Arts
Title: Digital Arts Website
Art Director: Sharon Lloyd McLaughlin
Web Developer: Sharon Lloyd McLaughlin
Copywriter: Adrian Bonvento
www.digitalartsimaging.com
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