Be Warned: the site above is littered with foul language and disturbing images. Those that are easily offended stay away. With that said – the site is genius.
Surfing from home the other night I stumbled upon www.martin-h.com, a site that really got it’s hooks into me. Rarely do I sit through an entire site’s content – but I did for this one.
The storytelling was done in a fun & unusual way that I’ve not seen before. The non-traditional cellophane pill packet navigation takes the user through each phase of the main character’s story in a compelling and personal way. We’ve seen the spiral effect countless times in page transitions but in this design it really works. Take the pill, got for a spin & load new content.
Also, the large amount of content that actually speaks to the user (ie. videos/avatars) is what kept me engaged throughout the site. One of the big themes of 2008 is using video more in interactive work. This site uses it extensively, but not in the traditional means you’d expect. It’s not separate movies, it’s integrated into the experience.
From the opening video where you see the guy playing with his dog I was hooked. I wanted to see more… and that is a rarity these days.
Patrick Dunphy