Web site critique

Hillman Curtis, Inc.

Description

Hillman Curtis, Inc., is a company that specializes in new media design, specifically Flash advertisements and images for Web sites. The purpose of its Web site, hillmancurtis.com, is to attract potential clients, though the company does not explicitly state that.

The way Hillman Curtis, or actually hillmancurtis, goes about attracting clients is by informing them of the creative elements it can bring to a Web site. The company’s site itself is done entirely in a blue-purple background and is rather sparse with some simple links to company/client information across the top, an object that looks something like a digital heart with a search box in the top left and five descriptive links at the center/bottom to videos/books produced by Hillman Curtis. The fifth descriptive link and a tag that says “Powered by Media Temple” are all that appear below the fold. The focal point of the homepage is a large square in the center that immediately attracts viewers because of its different, dark color and its size in relation to the page’s other elements. The square runs a Flash video on a loop.

The video begins with the image of a little girl, looking off screen to the right. The image is so clear and precise that it gives the impression of a photograph. It is not until about five seconds in, when the girl blinks, that the viewer realizes it is an extremely high-quality video. The video, which has no sound, proceeds to show a number of people’s faces as they hold still and occasionally blink.

Analysis

All the elements on the Hillman Curtis Web site are understated in order to draw attention to the large Flash video in the center. The links are all written in a very small font size and in colors such as pale white, grey, pale green, pale orange and dark blue. There are small bubbles beside the descriptive links, and a red “Y” for Yahoo does tend to stand out a little. There is just one color, however, that really jumps out, a fluorescent yellow that is used for the company name over the heart image in the top left corner.

There are no real patterns to speak of other than the way the links are positioned in four short, spaced out columns at the top of the page. The page overall has a square shape thanks to the large, square Flash video box and the grey corner formed at the top left. The clean, empty look of the page makes your eye continue to focus on the Flash video, the one bright and changing element. The descriptive links directly below the video tend to be ignored because of its overwhelming presence.

Interpretation

This Web site does have a serious leaning towards it, but the video immediately caught my attention and amazed me. Using human faces forms a natural emotional connection, and the video does an especially good job in drawing viewers in by beginning with a young girl’s face. My first inclination was that the center box was just a photograph of a girl, and I was about to close the browser window when she blinked. I was shocked, and I had to sit and watch the entire video to see what was going on.

The appeal of a human face is universal. The faces have no language and no sound, and as long as you have the ability to see, you can be touched emotionally by such a video. It reminds me of some highly artistic photographic portraits in a museum, but the fact that they are moving and breathing makes it even more interesting.

Judgement

I believe Hillman Curtis’ Web site is highly effective in pushing potential clients to find out more about the company and its work. The video is so clear and amazing, like very few other videos on the Internet, that it drives viewers to click on the company links at the top of the page. In the age of grainy YouTube videos and Flash videos on sites like ESPN.com that are the size of postage stamps, Hillman Curtis’ technology really stands out. If this seemingly underwhelming Web site can get me, the quintessential short-attention span viewer, to stop and watch, then it is sure to attract many clients.