This site goes in a different direction than other museums as it is less serious, but incorporates very nice motion effects. Whereas before, the use of a large, eye catching colour image on the homepage proved to be a key component in the NCM Museum site's success, Heineken have taken it one step further. Not only is their image the central piece of the website, taking up about 75% of the page, but it is also a motion piece, using a slow zoom effect. Just this tiny addition makes glancing at the site more inducing. It has a quality which provides a sense of ease, this probably being due to the slow zoom being fluid, and calm.
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Furthermore, the colour branding is substantive and undeniable. Green here, is very noticeable as being Heineken's colour. Furthermore, the recognisable Heineken font is used around the site. This too helps aid the characteristics of the brand, which have already been successfully been built up in the packaging of the product and their TV/print based adverts.
Where the site succeeds is that the slow zoom motion pieces are repeated on every page of the site. I believe that to find one that isn't moving, makes it seem uncomplete, as is evident on this page which is under construction.
As a user, once you have been introduced to a familiar effect on page 1, 2 and 3, on page 4, you are expectant of it. When it doesn't come, it does challenge the feeling of overall polish to the site.
Some pages however have content that bears more importance, or cannot be conveyed as well using a moving image, for example the News page. Here, however, a smaller banner still lines the page. Admittedly they have attempted to appease the expectation of the repeated effect as I mention above, however it does feel a little too small an effort.
Layout would help repair this. Had they had adopted a left column for a banner then a right column for content this would have allowed both motion piece, and information to display.
I would have personally preferred the same large scale motion piece with the information presented below, however I am aware that this may challenge a user's perception of usability. When they click a button they expect to see it. To have to scroll down, even something as minor as that would add an essence of the site not being as refined as one expects. This therefore is a consideration we will have to consider when in the design phase for our mining site, as we want to make use of an eye catching motion piece too.
A downside that I can note about the site is that contact details are hidden away behind a tiny link found at the bottom of all the content. Admittedly, using a larger screen resolution means this isn't too much of a problem as everything displays on the page at one time, however, if I were visiting this site to find out how I can conatct them, I would expect this information in the top navigation bar, in the least.
Notably, the menu bar used in Heineken is quite effective. It doesn't take up too much space, and is simple and straight forward in it's titling, i.e. 'tickets' you naturally expect to allow you to book some, or find out prices and so it does. This bodes well for users who expect to find the information they seek in quickest manner. It doesn't offer any opportunity to confuse, especially as using a top header nav bar is a widely distributed method everywhere online.
I hate to be a bore but using Flash raises the dilemma of not being accessible to everyone. For the tiny majority who don't have the plug-in installed, they shan't be able to experience all of the Heineken. This is admittedly the user's own loss but when creating a museum website it is important to make it as accessible as much to the general public in their entirety. Importantly however, a Flash banner won't hinder the site too much as the textual information, prices or opening times for example are still viewable. This is an important note for our own design considerations as a council led project will require usability and accessibility.
Lastly, one area that Heineken step out of the box is a quirky user interaction section. Titled 'helloooo' they have a secret video footage from two intruders sneeking into their factory. The user is required to watch the piece and act like detectives, sending off information to Heineken reporting on their discoveries. I like this. It has an exciting quality to it, surely making the user feel included by having them conduct the investigation. Furthermore, from a business perspective, it acts as a great promotional tool for the new exhibitions that were unveiled in the 'secret' footage.
This sort of applet would be great for our own site, perhaps aimed at children, so to appease their conception of a museum website. Mystery/investigation holds great intrigue, particularly for myself, so ideas are already formulating.
In all, from the analysis conducted on the Heineken Experience website, I found that motion pieces, subtle in their delivery, add an extra element that works well for websites. It takes itto the next stage over just using eye catching images. However, with using the motion piece incurs dilemmas over true accessibility particulary when considering our project. Furthermore, consistency is once more an issue when establishing the overall finesse of a site. Lastly, quick simple navigation links are important, however, make sure the information is easily viewable is of greater importance for websites, as discovered for the 'contact' section for this site.
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