Friday, June 13, 2008

Boring no more.

How many front page web site have you glanced at this year? Hundreds? Thousands? Do you remember any of them? Usually boring lists of text in 8-point font and endless clickable links or, worse yet, obnoxious pop-up flash ads vibrating on your screen.

While many mainstream retailers have tried to make their sites a little bit more interesting with cool graphics and slick transitions, it seems like it has all been done before and, more often that not, I bet you’re like me and scramble to click the little box at the bottom letting you “Skip Ad.”

But wait – here’s a site that is fun, clever, smart and just makes you smile. Allow for it to load up when you go to http://producten.hema.nl/

Hemo (http://www.hema.nl/) is a Dutch Department store with over 150 stores in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, and Germany. They have been in business since 1926. Watching and interacting with the front page I couldn’t help but notice that no matter how boring a tea kettle or garbage can (or textbook!) is, adding some fun and play to the product makes it that much more appealing.

Mark Patten

No comments: