Date: April 28, 2000
Author: Ronald Wolak

Subject: DISS 780 Multimedia Discussion Topic 4 - Multimedia Web Sites

DISS 780 Discussion Topic 4 - Multimedia Web Sites

Kmgi.com and Videographics.net are examples of multimedia-rich Web sites. KMGI is an online advertising company that specializes in advertising on the Internet (KMGI, 2000). Videographics is a Web site developer that specializes in multimedia Web design (Videographics, 2000). Both sites utilize Macromedia Flash to demonstrate their multimedia authoring abilities to potential clients. While both sites are multimedia rich - are they usable? The usability of a Web site depends on what visitors to the site are trying to accomplish (Spool, Scalon, Schroeder, Synder, & DeAngelo, 1999). The more a site helps visitors locate the information they are looking for, the more usable it is.

KMGI

KMGI produces television-style advertisements for the Internet. The company's productions include those for the New York Post, Net2Phone, and New York Presbyterian (Swartz, 1999, August 13). KMGI introduced Webmercials and Web Presentations to the Internet in March of 1999. Its eye-catching vector graphics are produced by animators in Russia.

The KMGI site is quite impressive. First time visitors, interested in finding out about the company, are immediately presented with a multimedia intensive sample of KMGI's abilities. Navigation buttons are both unique and effective. Samples of client sites are included and provide visitors with the information they are looking for. One improvement to the site would be the addition of control buttons that would allow visitors to stop, play, and fast-forward the Flash presentations.

Videographics

Videographics is an Atlanta-based video/graphics art studio and Web design company that produces multimedia-rich Web sites for clients such as Vermont American and Durand Real Estate. The company's site employs a wide variety of multimedia formats to impress and attract potential clients.

The Videographics site is a prime example of how not to format a Web site. It should be included in the best selling book, Web Pages That Suck (Flanders & Willis, 1998). The site's nonstandard layout is confusing and makes it almost impossible for a visitor to locate information about the company and its abilities. The site is ineffective for reasons that include cluttered design, overuse of graphics, small display windows, and non-standard navigation buttons. A complete redesign is required to make this site effective. The redesigned site should focus on providing visitors with information.

References

Flanders, V., & Willis, M. (1998). Web pages that suck. San Francisco, California: SYBEX Inc.

KMGI. (2000). World's best Web site [Online]. Available: http://www.kmgi.com [2000, April 23].

Spool, J., Scalon, T., Schroeder, W., Synder, C., & DeAngelo, T. (1999). Web site usability: A designer's guide. San Francisco, CA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.

Swartz, J. (1999, August 13). The Internet's future is now. Forbes [Online]. Available: http://www.forbes.com/columnists/swartz/1999/0913.htm [2000, April 23].

Videographics. (2000). Atlanta Web designs [Online]. Available: http://www.videographics.net [2000, April 24].