Awwward Winning Websites Gone Wrong

Summary

This video critiques award-winning websites that prioritize style over user experience (UX). It highlights common UX mistakes, such as overly complex animations, excessive scrolling, and obstructive design elements that hinder navigation. The critique emphasizes the importance of balancing aesthetics with functionality, ensuring that websites remain user-friendly despite their creative flair. The host suggests using scroll libraries to improve UX and advises against long intros and forced scrolling, recommending a course on designcourse.com for mastering UI/UX practices.

Takeaways

• 👀 Avoid overly busy and fast-moving video backgrounds with mixed media overlays as they can be overwhelming for users.
• 🔗 Ensure that users can easily navigate away from intense or busy sections without needing to click, thus improving user experience.
• 🎨 While creative design is important, excessive scrolling and slow interactions can lead to user fatigue and frustration.
• 🛠️ Utilize scroll libraries like lennis to adjust scroll dampening values for smoother and faster scrolling experiences.
• 🚫 Be cautious with video-based scrub animations; they should enhance rather than hinder the user journey.
• 🌟 Highlight the importance of a well-executed intro section that sets the tone without overwhelming the user.
• 📊 Showcase how too much visual clutter and lack of context can confuse users, even in creative projects.
• 🔍 Emphasize the need for clear navigation cues and the avoidance of long, unskippable intros that deter user engagement.
• 🎭 Critique the overuse of certain design trends, like overlaying thumbnails, which can obscure content and negatively impact UX.
• 💻 Address the issue of janky animations and slow frame rates, suggesting the need for optimization to maintain a professional appearance.

Q & A

What is the main issue with the first website mentioned in the script?

The main issue is that there is too much happening with the video background, making it visually overwhelming and difficult to focus on the content.

Why is the use of mixed media on websites generally advised against?

Mixed media, such as images and words overlaying the actual website, can be distracting and make it hard for users to engage with the content properly.

What is the problem with the 'Clear Space by Omega' website in terms of user experience?

The website requires manual labor from users, such as excessive scrolling, which can lead to a poor user experience due to the effort required to navigate the site.

What is a common solution to improve the scrolling experience on websites that use scroll libraries?

Adjusting the scroll dampening value can make the scrolling experience smoother and faster, improving user experience.

What is the issue with the '3js' website in terms of user effort?

The website requires a significant amount of scrolling effort from users, which can be off-putting and detract from the overall experience.

Why is the use of video-based scrub animations in the 'Cumulus' example considered excessive?

The use of video-based scrub animations is excessive because it requires multiple scrolls for minimal changes and can lead to a disjointed user experience.

What is the concern with the video background on the 'Lion Biton' website?

The video background causes pixelation and video compression issues, which can be visually unappealing and detract from the website's overall aesthetic.

Why is overlaying project thumbnails over important content a bad practice?

Overlaying project thumbnails over important content can obstruct visibility and make it difficult for users to access or read the content, leading to a poor user experience.

What is the main criticism of the festival website's design?

The design is overly complex with too much visual clutter, making it difficult for users to interact with the site and find the information they need.

What is the issue with the portfolio website that uses 3js and custom shaders?

While the use of 3js and custom shaders is impressive, the website requires excessive scrolling from users to view projects, which can be tedious and user-unfriendly.

What is the key takeaway regarding long intros on creative projects?

Long intros should be avoided as they can be time-consuming and detract from the user experience, even for creative projects.