This last week, Forty, a local branding/design/marketing guru-collective, launched it’s new website. I have a lot to say, as I think it’s a great improvement over their old site. Forty’s previous site had character, but no work clearly presented. Their new website preserves their dynamic personality, but introduces their professional portfolio and case studies. I’m glad they stuck with the Forty green (though I think it’s a different shade than it was), and I’m even happier that they bulked up their online identity with lovely woodgrain icons and felt details.
Their old website seemed like more of a landing page than their new online home. It’s now content-rich with wonderful copywriting that just makes me smile. With lines like “Forty is a Swiss army knife with five amazingly useful blades. And probably a corkscrew.” you have to assume that Forty would just be fun to hire.
I’m always a fan of case studies on websites, and I’m glad that Forty included a breakdown of their projects. I’m disappointed, however, that there isn’t a standard for their case studies. What I mean is that not all of their case studies show the sketch process or design comps. Some include mind maps, while others only show the finished product. I’d like to see their case studies more uniformly presented to give the viewer a deeper understanding of their design process. They don’t need to include exhaustive collections of process photos, but I think each study should include at least a couple mindmaps, wireframes, or hand sketches. If they’re included in one, it almost sets a precedent that they should be included in the others. Also, it would be great if they included the results of their designs/redesigns. Did that new website increase viewership? How did that identity focus company X’s direction or demographic? Seeing good design is great, but knowing how it tangibly helped a client is even better.
I did notice a nice detail at the bottom of their case studies — a “Wish this were you?” button. I’m not even a potential client and I clicked it! It sends you to their contact section, which includes a nice email form and simple ways to get in touch. Each page includes the “inside Forty” section on the right-hand side of the screen. It’s a nice sidebar with Flickr photos of the collective and Vimeo videos that show off the team. Again, personality.
My last critique is that the links on the bottom of the website open up in the same window. I know it might be all about personal preference on this issue… but when I click on a link to Twitter or Flickr, I prefer that it launch in a separate tab. I enjoy having the site available when I’m checking out their social media pages. But check it out for yourself! Feel free to leave a comment here about your experience with the new Forty website. What do you like about it, and how is it lacking? Start the discussion below!
Sunny Thaper
Stephanie, thanks for the awesome critique. I agree that the links at the bottom should open up a new page and if I remember that on Monday, I’ll make the change! As for the uniformity across case studies, in the past we’ve been very terrible at keeping documentation as the project progresses. This is mostly the reason you see more of the process with the new projects but nothing with the old. Going forward, that is definitely going to change. We are looking into opportunities to introduce video into our process as well.
Mar 07, 2010 @ 2:00 AM
Stephanie Horn
Sunny, thanks for the response! I hope my critique helped by giving you another outside perspective on your site. I’ll check those links on Monday, so you’d better make the change, ha! Thank you for explaining the process documentation. I’m looking forward to seeing more of it in the future, especially with video! Are you guys thinking of doing more of a mashup type video? Or something with a narrative? Anyway, to reiterate, great improvements on the site. I’m excited to see how it adapts over the coming months.
Mar 07, 2010 @ 2:38 AM
Sunny Thaper
I personally would like to see the videos be more of a narrative style but in terms of time available… that might take too long to actually do :( I would love to get clients in the video too, talking about the project from their perspective.
Mar 07, 2010 @ 3:23 PM
Amy Lamp
Thanks for the review! I definitely appreciate the perspective you brought to it. I’m very excited that the site is up. It’s so much easier to expand as we create new content, which we’re always doing anyway.
BTW, I’m with you the external links thing :) These must have slipped through the cracks. Sunny changed them so they function this way now.
Mar 08, 2010 @ 11:40 AM
Stephanie Horn
Amy, you’re welcome! And I’m loving the site… keep adding content! I love seeing all the stuff you guys are up to. And I checked those links :) They look good.
Mar 08, 2010 @ 12:26 PM
Kim Stearns
Thanks so much for this honest and insightful review! I’m so happy you included things that irked you as we looove to get that type of feedback alongside the positive stuff.
I would love love love to have consistency in the case studies since, as you pointed out, there’s no telling what someone will see when they view a case study, so that’s an excellent point you made. I also agree that we should include metrics as well!
Again, thanks for the review!
Mar 18, 2010 @ 10:32 AM
Stephanie Horn
No problem, Kim! I’m glad I could give some insight from an outside perspective. I love process and I can’t wait to see more of it on the Forty website! And nice copywriting, by the way!
Mar 19, 2010 @ 8:53 AM