Design Firm Website Critique.

It is ironic I think that in a profession based on design and visual appeal there are so many poorly designed websites for design firms. There are so many that are based off of magazine design. While if we were leafing through Dwell they would be great, however on the web the bar is raised. Because there are capabilities to add video, multi-layered graphics and other organic features to a website, the traditional cut out pictures and text just don't cut it. www.ricescabinetry.com and www.pvzdesign.com are examples of this. They are not inherently bad, just poorly suited for the medium being used. www.shugartbates.com, www.gglo.com, www.clairenightingale.com, www.pauladevonraso.com, and www.weberthompson.com are some websites that I particularly enjoyed and that stuck out. They usually had some sort of introduction that took advantage of multimedia capabilities. Something like this really captures attention and makes the material much easier to read and take in, it makes it effortless. When you have to really go out of your way and try to get the information, it just defeats the purpose of thoughtful website design. It's all about visual appeal and efficient presentation of material. www.sapphire-studios.com, www.officewraps.com, and www.hendersonkelly.net are a decent cross section of the middle ground between these two extremes. Frankly though I think there is absolutely no excuse for any architecture or interior design firm to have a website that is anything short of eye popping.