Design Exploration: Rapp Collins Worldwide & Schematic

I chose to do my Design Exploration on Rapp Collins Worldwide and Schematic. They are both marketing companies that have major companies for clients. They focus on creating branded experiences; and both their websites are just that!

I have some nice screenshots of the websites to show, but for some reason Blogger won't upload the images...??

I really like the design of the Rapp Collins site, for its originality, consistency, and attention to detail. The design strays from the template style for most websites, by using an interface that is not only unique, but also clean, artistic, and visually interesting. It does this while still keeping the possibly less intuitive user in the loop, with the option to use a more conventional nav menu.

The layout is very clean. In the intro, we are introduced to our site guide, a little humming bird, who is actually the result of the animated preloader. Then we head into the main site, which does not seem like a standard website at all, but more of an exploration of artistic expression. The site is still easy to navigate because it presents you with the nav menu from the beginning, which gives you clues on how to navigate the different locations. When you go to a particular location either by moving the mouse down the page or via the menu, you are greeted with a nice animated preloader that loads the visuals for that location. The visuals for each location are playful animations that are just awesome. Then if you choose to enter that location a really cool thing happens. The main page blurs out into the background and flowing vines of cables, coming from the main page, connect you to a new window with more info on that topic.

The feeling that one gets is that you are never really leaving the main page, all while still getting the info you want. The whole site and the windows themselves are an awesome combination of crisp raster graphics and stunning 2D vector illustration. THE CONTINUITY IS AMAZING!!!! This site is a brand experience in itself. It is inspiring design work! The amazing thing is, is that all this does not overpower or detract from the goal of the site, but only lends to the experience.


The website for Schematic is just as well designed, but with a completely different style. The whole website is on one huge page that the user navigates, one tile at a time. So, when the page loads, you start at the Home tile, but you can see that their are more tiles surrounding it because they are partially visible and are allowed to run off the screen. They still give you a nav menu that travels with you to each tile, but its content changes to suit the current location. Going to main categories of the page is a cinch, and going the home tile is just as easy. You also have the option to zoom out at any time to see all tiles/pages that you can navigate to. THIS IS AWESOME!! I am amazed at how easy and quick it is to move from page to page. On each tile you can read the written content, admire the graphics and design, or you can view videos/images that are present on that page. The attention to detail and level of consistency, which is very important, is top level.

Both these sites are amazing! They are an inspiration for new and cutting edge design. YOU HAVE GOT TO CHECK THEM OUT! I can see now, why Karl wanted us to do these explorations. Thank You Very Much.