Sibby’s Cupcakery
sibbyscupcakery.com
The website of Sibby’s Cupcakery is the modern day equivalent of the front window of a bakery that is so inviting with treats that you can’t help but enter. This is a great role model for Watermelon Music because the website is so true to the business’s branding and offers a very positive experience that makes you want to virtually window shop and then purchase cupcakes.
- The branding of Sibby’s Cupcakery is carried through the website – the sweet look and feel, lovely pictures of cupcakes, typography, pattern and colors.
- Builds trust with the user by communicating realistic timelines for online orders.
- Great use of white space. Has a clean and uncluttered interface (just the phone number at the top) and the navigation menus are well thought out and not crowded.
- Responsive website that is as excellent of an experience on a phone as on a full size screen.
IKEA USA
ikea.com/us
IKEA’s website is a great role model for search and filtering capabilities. Watermelon Music has a lot of different types of inventory, and custom filtering for each category would make it easier to find items. Sometimes users want to find something quickly, and sometimes they want to browse. Having your website accommodate both makes for happy users.
- The breadcrumbs (circled below) make it easy to see where you are within their catalog of items.
- Being able to sort or filter at any point in your search makes it easier for users to find exactly what they need, or to browse when they don’t have specific requirements.
- The All Filters button (circled below) opens a slide out search that let’s you filter by all of the attributes specific to the category you are in.
- Builds trust with the user by showing the number of items meeting your current filtering settings before you perform the search and see the results (circled below). This respects the user by not forcing them to follow through with a fruitless search.
Dominique Desimpel
dominiquedesimpel.be
The Dominique Desimpel website is a portfolio of natural stone and ceramic tile. The company specializes in tiles from around the world, and their clients are architects and designers. The website is a great example of breaking the grid, and showing how creative and talented they are in their work, by having a website that is similarly as artistic and creative. Further, they build a feeling of respect for their users, as though acknowledging that their users are also talented and creative. Watermelon Music website could give a similar feeling, that they are talented and dedicated musicians, and that they respect that their users are as well.
- Responsive website that doesn’t compromise the experience when using a mobile device.
- Parallax effects
- Breaking the grid with layered images and text over images.
- Creates an immersive experience.
- High end feel on a website displaying products and services that are luxuries.
- The website builds a feeling of artistic camaraderie by the use of multiple quotes such as “The world is a canvas for our imagination.” (Emphasis mine.) While they could have chosen to put quotes about awards they have won or praise from satisfied clients, they chose instead to put inclusive quotes inviting the user to see themselves as a talented collaborator.
