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Drop Down Menus

1st edition — by Patrick McNeil — Nov. 20, 2007

The Design Element

When it comes to site navigation there are serveral standard methods that have become widely accepted. One of these is the drop down menu. As with all standard elements designers have found various ways to mash this tool into a wide assortment of design variations. This sample set deals with a rather small set of sites but hopefully will set the ground work for what can be a diverse set as it grows. As always, with more editions of this topic we will see a much broader set of samples.

Another really cool feature of this chapter is that it includes my first ever screencast. I recently mentioned there were things I always wanted to do on the site, and this is most definetly one of them. The notion of capturing snapshots of design is evedient in the screenshots, but I always thought video captures of elements which can't be effectivly represented by static images would be a wonderful extension of this. So below is my first screencast which can serve as a time capsule of drop down menu styles. I really like the idea of Design Meltdown being an archive, which is why I don't update old posts with new images or by removing links. I want the site to be a permanent archive. Frankly this is not the most interesting subject matter for a screen cast, but I wanted to approach the technique with a rather simple topic.

So, sit back, enjoy the screencast, and please let me know what you think!

The Screencast

Video on YouTube

Take the poll

Please let me know what you think of the screencast. Your feedback will help determine if I continue to do these. Also, feel free to comment below in the usual fashion!

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Sample Usage

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Links

Ultimate Drop Down Menu by Brothercake (my personal favorite)

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Comments

rebecca

11/20/2007 10:18:35 AM

i couldn´t get the voting to work, but i liked the screencast a lot! it was nice to hear the commentary WITH the website, and also there were no problems opening sites and whatnot. this was a very useful set - thanks again!

Simon

11/21/2007 8:59:10 AM

Very well desmonstrated. The menus had interesting design and were well displayed.

Would have been hard to explain with out a video.

Screen casts are a nice change when you´ve been reading feeds for 2 hours =)

Kathy

11/21/2007 9:13:41 AM

Definitely worthwhile! I wouldn´t have appreciated all the nuances of today´s sites without the screencast. Thanks for taking the time to do it!

Carlos

11/21/2007 9:13:55 AM

I think screencasts are a fine thing, but i wouldn´t spend too much time on the production. I think it´s more important to get some fresh articles than the cool presentation.

Patrick

11/21/2007 9:16:46 AM

Thanks for the feedback guys. I am glad to know someone watched it and that there was some value in it. I just really think the idea of a video capture will work great for certain topics. Which is ok for now, but in months after sites change it will be even more valuable.

Tom

11/21/2007 6:54:51 PM

Yep great idea, I really enjoyed it. The commentary added a human touch to your site too.

You don´t give any downsides or trade-offs to the stuff you comment on - is that deliberate?

For example the long thin neck in the amazon side nav rollovers makes it all to easy to accidentally skip into another item..

Patrick

11/21/2007 6:57:45 PM

Yeah, I keep things positive on purpose. I am much more interested in what people do well, then dragging down for poor elements. Also, I tend to just be a positive person, so often times I overlook negative elements all together. I think my brain has been trained to see the positive side to everything.

Mitchell Killian

11/23/2007 10:03:24 AM

Patrick,
I found this screencast to be very helpful. I am constantly multitasking and this allows me to listen to you, switching back to the video when you go to another site.

I really like this emphasis on drop down menus. It helps me think "outside the box" a bit more when it comes to this element. Keep up the great work!

marcello

12/11/2007 9:25:17 AM

Hi, nice screencast, i would have loved to see the website urls though!

Marcello

c-type

5/7/2008 4:48:03 PM

This is WAY better than trawling thru galleries to get to grips with an idea. Add the date somewhere, include URLs in bottom 1/3rd and you´re sweet.

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