As designers of the new age, it’s difficult to bring something new to the plate, especially after so many generation of designers that have come before us. But we all sometimes try to bring a new taste to the table. I commend the initiative but think twice before going through with it.
Upon looking at webpages the main menu are ALWAYS located on either the left side of the page or across the top. This is simply the traditional way of doing this, unless the site is interactively designed in a way that the web surfer can play with it.
screenshot
While working in class we discussed our webpage designs with one another and some of the people had placed their menus on the right side of the page. Immediately I cocked an eyebrow and though “hey, that’s interesting”.
The motivation of the designer was to catch peoples’ eye by going against the grain and doing something different. I protested against the thought saying that trying to be creative/different is nice, but not at the cost of function. Another student countered my disapproval and said that it was a powerful luring tool, which would draw the viewers eye.
I looked through more wilder websites that would have more interactivity and complexity to them, and STILL the menu is either across the top of on the left side of the screen.
Screenshot of Newgrounds
I spoke with a teacher that taught me last year and brought this up with him, and what he told me was extremely fascinating. He said “Do you think that the student who did that in class was the first person to try that?! There have been thousands of designers before them that tried it and gave up on it. You know why? BECAUSE IT DOESN’T WORK!” He explained about the technical aspects as the many, many issues come from putting, such as the menu not being visible on screen depending on the size of the screen, people don’t want to go hunting for main menus and other things as such.
Very interesting thought in my mind.
2 Comments
“Another student countered my disapproval and said that it was a powerful luring tool, which would draw the viewers eye”
Sorry if that was me!
I do understand the purpose of the menus being convenient on the tops and lefts of screens, however, given the type of site, creativity counts (i.e. designer blogs).
I guess us designers always face a constant struggle between esthetic and functionality.
Hayse you always have very good opinions on design! Keep it up.
j*
It wasn’t you I was referring to, you weren’t even part of that group when I said that ha ha!. Either way, I’m good when people come to a difference of opinion and said something, this is how discussions happen in which both parties learn from.