Atypical Navigation Part 3
3rd edition — by Patrick McNeil — Oct. 21, 2006
The Design Element
Creative navigation techniques that don't make the site more difficult to use can be a difficult challenge. The goal is to enable people to easily work their way through your content, but at the same time it is great to make it something more then that.
Some of the more clever navigation systems make navigating the site an experience all in it's own.
The cmd9.com
site is a perfect example of this. Using the navigation on the site is just plain fun. It isn't very often that such a mundane part of a site actually becomes enjoyable. You see a similar effect when designers create fun preloaders for flash movies; almost making you sad when the load is complete. With this in mind it is clear that by making the navigation fun you can really liven up a site. Browsing portfolios can get quite boring. The navigation in this case has done everything it can to add that something extra to the experience.
Of course this isn't to say that this is appropriate in all situations. But it certainly has it's place in the design world. Consider your project and see if creative navigation is right for your site.
Sample Usage
