IAMALWAYSHUNGRY | www.iamalwayshungry.com/adobe_3.mov
Adobe Systems invited New Orleans-based design studio iamalwayshungry to create a piece for its Adobe Design Center. The brief was open-ended: Adobe wanted to appeal to its network of creative users with an animated short that references the concepts of engagement, innovation and enhancement. The resulting work taps into these ideas while focusing on the theme of community.

Stylistically, the piece is derived from classic Saul Bass film titles. “We referenced Saul Bass’ illustration as a departure point and wanted to accomplish a nice sense of rhythm,” says iamalwayshungry creative director Nessim Higson. Mitch Paone, the firm’s lead animator, adds, “For the most part, the animation choices were really dictated by the sound design. There is a very atmospheric feel within the soundtrack, so I felt it was necessary to use a seamless camera move. Besides the overall camera movement, each of the secondary animations, which include elements such as ink spilling in the beginning or the revealing type, are instigated by subtle sounds and tones within the soundtrack.” The delicate relationship between sound and animation works to capture the essence of the story being told.
Terry Lee Stone

BBK STUDIO | www2.hermanmiller.com/discoveringdesign
It might help if you think of Herman Miller’s Discovering Design site as an interactive version of the six degrees of separation game … only here the focus is on modern design, and Charles and Ray Eames prove to be more important connectors than Kevin Bacon. The site promotes the value of authentic design; BBK Studio redesigned its navigation to make it easier to browse a growing collection of pages.

“It was becoming more and more difficult to navigate,” says Geoffrey Mark, managing director of interaction design at BBK, about the old site. Now, three carousels allow you to rotate through thumbnail images of products, people, places and ideas. This approach allows users to immediately see how much content inhabits the site. When visitors roll over any item, a series of thin lines appear, connecting that item with related choices in all three circles. “What’s really interesting are the stories,” Mark says, “the connections between the people and places and the products.” If you choose Isamu Noguchi, for instance, you’ll land on a secondary page with information about the designer, a slide show featuring his work and five small icons that take you to related sections of the site.
Michelle Taute

BBK STUDIO | www2.hermanmiller.com/vivoexperience
Things start happening as soon as you open the sitelet for Herman Miller’s Vivo office furniture system. There’s an avalanche of descriptive words—such as quality, versatility and legacy—flowing down the introductory page like a waterfall, and when you click on “Experience Vivo,” your mouse arrow turns into a red dot throwing off bubbles. “It sets up that you need to explore,” says Geoffrey Mark, managing director of interaction design at BBK Studio. “It’s going to be an interactive experience.” The charming little mouse effect takes its cues from the Herman Miller brand and logo, both in shape and color.

The main Vivo presentation kicks off with a timeline that walks you through the company’s office furniture lines over 40 years. “We wanted to show Vivo as a continuation of product development history,” Mark says. “All the knowledge they’ve gained has been put back into a functional and affordable system.” From there, the piece moves through a series of full-size images of the system itself, and this approach make you feel like you’re sitting in the Vivo office environment. Plus, white silhouetted figures move through these spaces, bringing them alive, and there are ample places to click and explore the line’s key features. It’s not hard to keep that red bubbling icon busy as you take a look around.
Michelle Taute

BBK STUDIO | www.cumberlandfurniture.com
This clean and spare site represents a new beginning for Cumberland Furniture. Known for timeless design in the ’50s, this contract furniture company lost recognition in the early ’80s and eventually faced bankruptcy. But its new website shows off a reinvigoration of both the business and product line.

BBK Studio, which designed the site and worked on the larger rebranding effort, wanted to communicate originality, quality and service. It’s a message that’s sent right on the home page, where a provocative image of a bench—suspended in midair—goes well beyond a typical beauty shot. In fact, the entire site boasts a polish more readily associated with consumer-facing efforts. “It’s a shopping site without the checkout,” says Geoffrey Mark, BBK’s managing director of interaction design. “We’ve gotten compliments that this is the cleanest contract furniture site out there.”

The new site’s visual style matches the look and feel of the company’s products. And while these tables and chairs—among other offerings—are only sold through dealers, design professionals and facility managers can still browse the selection while they consider different finishes and upholstery options. These visitors might also find themselves reading up on designers that create products for Cumberland. “Designers like other designers,” Mark says. They also appreciate a website that’s just as gorgeous and functional as the products it showcases.
Michelle Taute

HUTNER GROUP | www.hutnergroup.com/staging/moreland
The Hutner Group created this website to inform the public about 550 Moreland, a luxury real estate development of five-star homes in California’s Silicon Valley. This Santa Clara property is being marketed to individuals who desire a resort lifestyle, enjoy upscale amenities and are keenly aware of luxury brands.

To appeal to these prospective buyers, the website aims to leverage the power of recognizable brands identified as desirable to the target audience. “The approach of the website was to utilize well-known furniture pieces,” explains creative director Sue Hutner. “These objects act as avatars representing various aspects of … the lifestyle one could experience at 550 Moreland.” Different classic furniture pieces appear in each subsection of the website.

In addition to this technique, the website features a clean, uncluttered look and feel. A slide approach to the navigation was employed to move viewers through the content, with three sliding panels used in each of the subsections. Users can navigate through the subsection with the thumbnails in the lower left of a page or by clicking discrete arrows, prompting the users to move forward to the next panel or back where they came from. Subsection titles, including Relax, Indulge and Roam, pick up on the language used in marketing luxury goods.
Terry Lee Stone