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We all love the Belle. It's a Louisville icon. How can you not? The Belle of Louisville site launched on April 7th, 2008 and was created and developed by Cyber View.
You can check out more details on Cyber View's site here.
Amen. My natural cynicism means I can't be as positive as Loki, but Jesus, what a dreary site.
So many sites these days are only about content and not about entertainment. Not only is this one bogged down in inferior design, conceptually and graphically, but the people responsible for its creation (which doubtless includes some idiot in Belle's marketing department) totally don't get the value of creating interesting spaces or memorable brands.
Enough already of these mind-numbingly dull oh-so-Web-friendly html pages most of you pine for. Sex this stuff up.
As an owner of a web agency with a more than competent staff, I know that there are many variables that result in a website that garners public criticism such as this. I agree with many of the criticisms expressed in the last two posts, but I think without knowing the internal functioning of this project that it is unfair to call Cyber View out too much. I think their only misstep here might be in the simple act of promoting the site via PR. You open yourself up to criticism when you actively promote your work.
That being said, and owning a company that has been on the receiving end of the same type of criticism, I can give you a few good examples how even the best of intentions can lead to a "failed" project:
1. Under Bidding
Perhaps the biggest impediment to doing the best work is, of course, the almighty dollar. If a project is under bid, and the agency makes this realization too late in the process, it can lead to burn-out and doing the least amount of work to get the project finished. It's near impossible to ask a client for more money when you're far into a project.
2. Design by Committee
I have no idea the internal workings of the Belle of Louisville organization, but if there was a committee or board overseeing the design and development process, it could have played a big role in what you see now.
3. Tight Deadlines
Speaks for itself. Never a good idea for a huge project.
4. Getting In Over Your Head
Sometimes an agency will take on a project that does not reflect that company's core competency, either for the experience, or the money, or the glory. I'm sure that every place in this city has done this from time to time.
Anyway, I'm sure Cyber View learned quite a bit from this experience. I expect their next project will benefit greatly! This site is definitely a step up from some of the other sites in their portfolio.
Yeah, a little bit of a downer. The Belle is such an icon for Louisville. Could've been something really cool. Even the logo falls short for me. The stacks are nice but the typography thats actually on the Belle blows the doors off the logo on the website. Coulda done something more like the old spice stuff. But I'm sure its up on the search engines!
"Let the 3 column layout die, for the love of all that's holy! Try, just once, try something different or unique."
Only if createlouisville.com would take that advice :)
For what it's worth, I just looked at every Agency and Indy Web site listed up on the left, and with the possible exception of Circle One's and maybe Red7e's, they're all played out.
Number of columns, SEO-friendliness, all that tired in-the-box stuff: who cares? NONE of those sites inspires. It's hard to tell which is worse, Doe's, Vimarc's, or BCH's. Can we have some sort of voting mechanism?
In response to the above comment, I think the point is to not only showcase what Louisville has to offer, but challenge all those in the creative industries to push themselves to their limits, improving where they can. By having a forum for discussion these companies whose sites are 'played out' can hopefully have the ideas and successes of others stimulate their creativity so that Louisville can reach a competitive stature with other large cities.
And I disagree with the sites you specifically pointed out as the best. Nothing even works on the Red7e site, what's 'inspiring' about that? And, although ALL of the sites that you find 'played out' have room for improvement, they also each have something to offer even to Circle One and Red7e, like easier navigation, or at least working links.
Also, the site above was posted to give praise or constructive criticism on the Belle of Louisville's site, not to create a slamfest among Louisville's creative companies. The sites of those companies is completely irrelevant to the topic.
To the admins, please do not create a voting mechanism. I love the way creative minds can work together to enjoy what everyone in Louisville is working on, while helping to improve the quality of that work. The last thing we need is to reduce artistic endeavors to some sort of shallow myspace 'hot or not' ratings.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Yeah, let's all just get along and keep our mouths shut about how awful these companies' sites are. I mean, it's just the business we work in.
Why do we have to benignly endure -- let alone enjoy -- dull and insipid design? Just because it "works"? And who wrote that rule about always being positive and collegial? Not me.
DoomGuppy -
I must agree with Domestic Sifu in that a discussion of creative company websites here is irrelevant. If there is a site that you would like to critique, I would say feel free to submit it, and we will do our best to post it for you.
In the future, you will most likely see us delete posts that do not provide constructive criticism and insightful suggestions pertinent to the individual posts.
1. Loki says:
April 24, 2008 10:34 AM
I hate to always be the first one to say it, but is this site is supposed to be good? Honestly, if I compared a screenshot of this site with one from 1998 there would be very little difference. Just about the only well-designed part of the site is the logo. But I highly doubt that Cyber View did that.
Let me be constructive:
- Let the 3 column layout die, for the love of all that's holy! Try, just once, try something different or unique.
- Build something that is actually interesting to look at for people who would be visiting the site. For example, maybe separate the upcoming events into a "log book" or something cheesy like that. Or have the floor plans or a 3D version of the boat to look at that could also act as a navigation.
- I realize that the client wants to manage the site, but there are also new ways to build CMS apps. Look into a bit, maybe.
What I really enjoy is that in the Press Release about the site design (on Cyber View's "also amazing" website) they actually list as new features: "easier navigation, simpler layout, printer-friendly format and drop-down menus." Really...drop-down menus!? Wow, new technology! Simpler layout? I think not.
I could go on and on with this website. It makes me sad that organizations like the Belle have to be subjected to this, and probably don't know any better.
Loki