Coffee Site Research: Highlands

Highlands:

Website

Critique: This homepage is really boring, and the maroon-ish fuchsia background color doesn't really match the brand's oranges and golden yellows. It sort of drowns them out. A black or gray background would make a huge difference. The site would also be better off with an actual navigation, rather than links that float around the image. Going through the site, everything on the inside is pretty, like the softness of the body area background, the gradients used the side navigation, and the muted gold of some of the text. Unfortunately, the navigation text become illegible under the hover effect, and everything takes too long to load.

Coffee Research: Dunn Bros

Dunn Bros:

Website

Critique: The first half of the homepage is done really well. It somehow incorporates the colors of the rainbow without obviously being the rainbow. I think the heavy black outlines really help divide the colors, and the exclusively red and black slideshow images keep the page from looking busy and directionless. The blue type under the red slideshow gets a little lost, but other than that, they spread out the seven colors really well. Then I get to the second half of the homepage, which is boring. I'm not really interested in the random news and other featured products on the bottom half because it's very plain compared with the first half of the page. I think this part could be deleted completely. 

Coffee Site Research: Delta Cafes

Delta Cafes:

Website

Critique: The body area feels a little floaty, probably because of how the links and images look scattered around. The vertical slideshow is unique, though, and I like how they're incorporating a visual aspect of each culture to represent different products. One of my favorite parts is the geometric background because it carries the triangular logo all through the site, and the pattern itself is very unique and versatile. One feature I was uncertain about was how the menu worked, but once I got the hang of it, I fell in love with it. The right to left movement of the pages is consistent, and I want to keep flipping through just to see what the next page looks like. 

Coffee Site Research: Caribou Coffee

Caribou Coffee:

Website

Critique: It feels like there's a lot going on in the homepage, but only because of how close together everything is. With that said, the homepage is still very organized and uncluttered. They kept going with the playful, down to earth feel in the body area by organizing everything as if it were someone's pin board. The side navigation for the slideshow is a great touch, and I felt inclined to see what image and ad what behind each title. With this homepage, the eyes wanders, and I found myself interested in every little detail, from the random textures and backgrounds, to the various fonts styles and generous use of color. The second navigation get a little bit lost and could probably be made bold for emphasis, but that's just nit-picking.   

Coffee Site Research: Cafe Nero

Cafe Nero:

Website

Critique: I'm really impressed by the opening video clip and how it makes the audience feel more involved; the clip is even linked to the full video on how they make one of their products. The blue ribbon across the top feels a little out of place, though, unless they changed the color to a dark purple, gray, or brown to match the rest of the site. This is another site that also keeps things neat on the homepage, not overwhelming the viewer with links upon links of info. Everything is accessible, easy to find, and accompanied by gorgeous pictures of Europe and it's coffee culture. It's one of my favorites so far.

Coffee Site Research: Cafedirect

Cafedirect:

Website

Critique:  I'm not entirely sold on the image of a product lineup that they place in the header, but the translucent background and drop shadow helps it from standing out too much. I don't have a complaint about the rest of the site; the neutral blue and burnt orange is a great color combination, and they even balanced it out further by adding in browns and beiges with textured borders. The site definitely tells the audience that the product is natural and simple. 

Coffee Site Research: Cafe Coffee Day

Cafe Coffee Day:

Website

Critique: This website feels incredibly simple and playful, but there are a lot of hidden complexities. They used really subtle white and gray design in the header and drop down menu, designs that would normally clash if made any more noticeable. I also love the use of images in the drop down menus; it's a better way to organize information, rather than trying to throw those images all into one body area. One last thing: The scroll effect they used to let the audience alternate between ads is an awesome feature. This site definitely makes me feel excited about the company and its products.

Coffee Site Research: Cafe Britt

Cafe Britt:

Website

Critique: This site is more interactive than the others. There are more behavior effects to play with as the viewer scrolls over the links, especially with the drop down menus and clickable slideshow. The menus feel more animated, and they kept the overlapping of the menus from becoming distracting by simply making them opaque. There were a lot of colors the site could play with, as well, yet they didn't go overboard. I really enjoy this site, and I can only think of changing one thing; the social media icons don't fit well with the page's design.

Coffee Site Research: Bewley's

Bewley's:

Website

Critique: The background seems overwhelmingly purple, but they spread out the color well in the rest of the site. The fading images just underneath the navigation are a nice touch, especially when matched with the alternating links below. It's ads a modern touch to a site of an old company. And unlike other site, the homepage isn't overloaded with information; it's all organized. The navigation hover is too blatant, though. Instead of changing to flat white, they could incorporate the 'shine' they used in the purple navigation bar. This would keep the modern feel intact. 

Coffee Site Research: Bridgehead

Bridgehead:

Website

Critique: The site reads as very elegant. The background pushes the logo forward and makes it pop, while the gold tones are carried throughout the page via links and hover colors. I like the use of gradients in the body area categories below, for they carry over the the gray tones of the background image in a subtle way. The navigation seems a little sloppy, though, because of how they divided the links. It could be cleaned up by spacing the links out evenly.