"Asthenius Capital" first review
I'm a French UX Designer and Art Director, originating from Poland and currently living in Canada. I see every project I am involved in as an opportunity to go further, providing my clients and employers with quality materials and a great working relationship.
This is an interesting case...
But I'd like to say first that as a user, you freaked me out right from the start :P I suppose this disclaimer is there for legal purpose, but come on, I was very close to not enter at all! There should be another way to display it, and another wording to make that a bit more friendly.
Concerning this "unusual approach of corporate web design", I have to agree with the "unusual", and thumbs up for trying to innovate. However, I have to be honest and say that it perplexed me. In fact, I don't know if this mix of illustrations (who are nice btw) favor or not the seriousness of the business you are promoting, and I don't know if it will manage to properly speak to your audience. I assume you choose that creative strategy in order to soften the image of finance, which nowadays is felt as an austere and a full-of-shark world. But as soon as I saw the portraits of the senior management, the magic stops, as the way they are dressed, the way they pose and they were pictured reminds me of.... sharks. And this creates a dissonance between the cool and friendly graphics and the reality. Of course, this is my opinion, and I just want to be proven I'm wrong ;)
Concerning the layout, it's very simple, even monotone. You could work on the fonts which contribute to that monotony. You could pick a serif font in order to create contrast and bring back a hint of seriousness.
Once again, thumbs up for trying to innovate, your site is an interesting case study ;)
Comments 2
"But as soon as I saw the portraits of the senior management, the magic stops, as the way they are dressed, the way they pose and they were pictured reminds me of.... sharks. And this creates a dissonance between the cool and friendly graphics and the reality."
Agree absolutely, Vincent. I had the same feeling when viewing the site.
London-based freelance web designer and illustrator
Hi Vincent,
Thanks for your evaluation.
The whole website was designed according to a brief and the disclaimer was supposed to cover the whole site. There was no space for negotiations.
I agree that the layout is a bit monotonous and could have been arranged in another way but it's also clean and minimalist and I'm quite happy with that. I don't think however that adding a serif font would add anything positive to the design.
Cheers!