Designer/Architect Websites

Website: Henrybuilt
Type of Company, Location: Kitchen cabinets and storage systems, tables and seating, serving and media cabinets. Classical modern style. Seattle (home base),New York, Los Angeles.
Type of Information Provided: Info on products, design and engineering of the products and systems, customer service options for purchase and installation. Also areas for press contacts, clients, showroom locations, and job openings.
Graphics/Organization of Site: Minimalist. No more than 2 paragraphs of text on introductory pages, and lots of white space on all pages. Text is concise and informative. Text font is easy to read. Black and gray color scheme. Easy to navigate. Good photos show details of pieces and how they fit together to work as a system.

Website: 2 Form Architecture
Type of Company, Location: Architectural firm designing residential and commercial properties with emphasis on sustainability. Eugene, Oregon
Type of Information Provided: Architects, projects, design philosophy, sustainability, news articles about the firm.
Graphics/Organization of Site: The site is clean with well organized pages. Easy to navigate; every page has a navigation bar as well as contact information. The font was too small for me to read comfortably. The photos of projects are well chosen to highlight specific features of each project. I would have liked more written information for each project.

Website: Aleks Istanbullu Architects
Type of Company, Location: Architectural firm. Residential, community, adaptive re-use, urban design and mixed use. Santa Monica, California
Type of Information Provided: Design philosophy, awards, publications, contacts. Projects including competitions and urban planning ideas.
Graphics/Organization of Site: Well organized. Home page is gray and black except for the word, "architects", which is in red. The black and white photos transform to color as you scroll over them. All project pages use the same layout. The consistency adds to ease of use. The pages include a photo on the left and text on the right with plenty of white space. The firm's name is in the top left corner (where your name always belongs on a paper!) and a navigation bar runs along the top. On the far left is a "back" icon and a "contact" icon. This site was a pleasure to look at and play around in because of the clean lines, ease of navigation, and very cool projects.

Website: ChrDAUER Architects
Type of Company, Location: San Francisco. Residential, commercial, and avocational design
Type of Information Provided: Projects, awards, design philosophy, contact information, and a password protected space for clients.
Graphics/Organization of Site: Layout is very clean. Project tabs are at the top of each screen and at the bottom: home, about us, contact, and client access. The center of the screen is a rectangular band divided into text and pictures. The text is white on a burnt orange background and is easy to read. All rectangles are softened with rounded edges. On the home page, the 3 photos change automatically to show a variety of projects. The site is easy to navigate, has concise text, and excellent photos of projects. One of my favorite sites.

Website: NBBJ
Type of Company, Location: Beijing, Columbus, Dubai, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai. Interior design for: civic, commercial, corporate, higher education, healthcare, science, sports, and transportation buildings
Type of Information Provided: Projects in various market sectors listed above, services offered, description and location of their offices, information for job seekers, contact information, awards.
Graphics/Organization of Site: This site was sort of off putting and it took me a while to figure out their navigation system. Instead of "home" they have "menu" with 5 headings. Click on one of these and then you get sub menus. It's just not quite as intuitive as some other sites I've used. I don't like the black background--the overall feel of the site is dark and somber, and the pages feel disjointed. One neat feature is well produced video of clients talking about projects.

Website: Mancini Duffy Architecture and Design
Type of Company, Location: 170 member firm, 86 year old firm. New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington, DC., London UK. Commercial architecture and interior design.
Type of Information Provided: History of company, mission statement, staff, client list, awards.
Graphics/Organization of Site: This is a well designed site. The home page has an orange rectangle with photos and the menu to the left. The orange is solid at the left side, but becomes textured with a grid, which fades to white about halfway across the page. The 3 photos on the homepage change automatically. Projects are listed by sector (accounting & consulting, government, retail, and so on). The text was white on orange and easy to read. It was thorough, but concise. The site was easy to navigate. The big problem I had with it was encountering error messages when trying to open several pages. This happened both times I went to the site, several days apart. Not a good thing for the firm.

Website: I. Michael, Interior Designer
Type of Company, Location: Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Residential, commercial, and hospitality interior design
Type of Information Provided: Projects, awards & publications, "about us", contacts, links.
Graphics/Organization of Site: Like NBBJ this site had a black background which just looked dull and unimaginative. The text was gray, scrolling turned it orange. There were three big problems with this site. First, the really well-designed i've looked at have all text and graphics in a shape (usually a rectangle) that fits well within the boundaries of the screen. All information fits on the smaller screen and if you have to scroll down there is an arrow provided. In effect the text comes to you, rather than you having to chase the text down the screen. The I. Michael site did not have this feature, and it scrolled more like a blog. Gave it a bit of an unpolished feel. Second, none of the photos, which were dramatic and well composed, had any kind of caption or identifying information. Finally, although the list of links was a nice feature, it would have been more helpful to have them grouped by type (furnishings, firms, etc.).

Website: Interior Reflections
Type of Company, Location: Houston, interior design mostly traditional style
Type of Information Provided: "About Us", FAQs ("My husband keeps suggesting I call a designer. ... What can Interior Reflections do for us quickly, inexpensively, and still have a dramatic result?"), "Ideas" (DIY how-tos), her projects, a sign up for free newsletter, monthly specials (e.g. a two hour sprucing up of one room using items you already own), and contact information (e-mail Beth).
Graphics/Organization of Site: This site looks and reads more like a home magazine, a combination of Better Homes and Gardens and Traditional Home. It appeals to those who like decorating themselves as well as those who want to hire a professional. The layout has a banner masthead with the company logo and, " Creating Fine Interiors Since 1982", plus photos of projects. The text is in two columns. It features the specials, free newletters, and monthly specials mentioned above, as well as pictorials of before and after makeovers. These are staples of HGTV and home magazines. The text is cozy and chatty. It's tone is welcoming and cozy and probably is perfect for the clientele she seeks--people who like "gracious living" in a traditional American (with a splash of trends like Tuscany) style.

Website: Design Synthesis, Residential and Commercial Interiors
Type of Company, Location: Los Angeles, Interior Design Firm
Type of Information Provided: Profile of owner, Fran Kerzner, Projects, Contact, News & Appearances (her work has been featured on HGTV).
Graphics/Organization of Site: This site is less detailed than many others I looked at. It doesn't include much about her philosophy or approach with clients. There is no list of clients. It's not extensive, but it is a good introduction to her work.

Website: Richard Schultz
Type of Company, Location: Outdoor furniture based on designs of Richard Schultz. Pennsylvania.
Type of Information Provided: About Us, including a video bioraphy of Richard Schultz and his son Peter. Our Garden featuring the furniture set in the garden of the family's 250 year old Pennsylvania farmhouse (love the garden chairs piled with snow!). Product lines. Dealers. Contact information. A password protected area for people who register--can get downloadable brochures and other literature.
Graphics/Organization of Site: This sight is as lean and minimalist as the furniture it showcases. The background is white and, although each screen is organized, there are no visible margins, borders, etc. All text is black except the Richard Shultz logo which is a green rectangle with his signature in white. The mission statement and primary contacts are also in green. The home page has the menu and an animated graphic of the rocking chair that is part of their new line. This alternates with images of other products. Text is spare, but informative. This site is a perfect match for the form and spirit of the designer and the chairs he created.