Design Exploration

The Ikea website “Come In To The Closet” (http://demo.fb.se/e/ikea/comeintothecloset2/site/default.html) features interaction with on-screen bizarre dancers as a way to promote Ikea products. These dancers are shown in a room furnished by Ikea. Visitors to the site use music and sound to affect the movements and tempo of the dancers. Upon opening the website, the visitor is alerted to some practical considerations, as the site states “Sound makes all the difference.” Ikea provides the music and sound through a selection of songs. The website also lets the user have increased control of the dancers by using their keyboard as a drumset, or uploading their own music to the site. The greatest amount of control is available if the visitor uses their microphone to control the dancers through sounds he or she creates.
The Ikea products for sale are highlighted when the visitor clicks on one of several items shown at the bottom of the screen. After clicking on an item a dancer will enter a closet- providing Ikea with the opportunity to showcase different organizational and storage products. Visitors can switch rooms to view different dancers, surroundings and items.
This website seems to be intended to entertain the viewer for a few minutes while showing absurd but certainly memorable imagery. The website does not use Flash to provide detailed product information, but instead uses Flash to create a long-lasting impression on the visitor about the Ikea brand itself. Ikea is presented as both practical and fun. The ability to quickly and simply change rooms and dancers is appropriate for the Ikea website because it reflects the modular and interchangeable nature of Ikea products.
The strength of Come In To The Closet’s use of Flash is that the means of interaction are kept simple. There are a limited number of design elements on the screen, as a complicated or cluttered space would overwhelm straightforward interaction with the dancers. There are several options to interact through sound, from simply listing to the first song provided to using computer hardware to create original sounds. However, the visitor can easily opt out of the more complicated choices and still fully experience the site.

“Lescaux- A Visit to the Cave”

The website “Lescaux- A Visit to the Cave” (http://www.lascaux.culture.fr/#/en/00.xml)
uses Flash to explore the 16,000 year-old cave system in Southern France. The main section of this site recreates a walking tour by guiding the viewer through the length of the caves in a nearly 3D presentation. As different cave drawings are shown, the user can click on them to go to a different page to view more information and more detailed pictures. As the tour processes, an overhead map is updated to show what area of the cave is being viewed.
Flash is used effectively to control the pacing of the cave tour. The slow and deliberate pace of the presentation creates an impression of exploration and discovery. The images of the cave are the most important part of the site, so the option to hide the text is easy to find. Flash is also useful to give the impression of interaction with different cave drawings.
The navigation of the site is straightforward, as there are almost always options at the bottom the screen to go back to the main introductory screen or to skip to the next or previous chapter of the presentation. A popup menu is always available. This menu can take the user to any section of the website. The sound option button is clearly visible.
Although Flash is useful for the exploration section of this website, the site is not perfect. Several times I was directed to French language pages and I could not easily select English again. The scrolling button on the text information screens does not stand out enough to be immediately apparent to the visitor. Additionally, the popup menu to select any part of the presentation was also difficult to find at first. Once I found these options navigation was a lot easier.