Design evaluation: Bad

http://havenworks.com/
The design of this Web site made me a little nauseous, which I'm sure is the opposite effect the designers wanted. The proprietors of this site obviously ignored several basic design elements.

The site lacks contrast. The geometric shapes created by the boxes on the page are all the same, and thereby confuse the reader as to what the most important part of the page is. All elements seem to blend together. There is no contrast in size, shape, texture, color, position or orientation, which violates the rules of contrast we discussed in class. Because there is no contrast, there is no meaning in the elements of the site. This site is posing as a news site, but the lack of contrast prevents the reader from understanding that.

The fact that all the shapes are essentially the same removes any chance of having balance. Without balance, the site lacks a clear focus and remains uninteresting.

The designers of the site also used design elements poorly. Color is a big part of the problem on this page because it seems to be used randomly. There is no method to the placement of bright colors. This also comes back to the principle of contrast. Because there is no variance in the value or intensity of the colors, their purpose is diminished.

The designers also seem to have no method with their use of lines. There are no interesting intersections of lines, nothing but vertical and horizontal lines connecting in predictable ways. This makes the site boring.

Lastly, there is no negative space, which is a necessity when attracting readers. The page is busy and confusing, and my eyes have no time to rest when I look at the page. There is no clear shape created by the white background, and the lack of negative space makes the site nonfunctional.

Overall, this site is a good example of poor design. Those who designed the site completely ignored basic principles we have discussed, which resulted in a terrible layout. This example proves the point that good design is essential in all artifacts.