Twinings of London

www.twinings.com

Intended Audience: Twinings customers and potential customers worldwide, as well as tea enthusiasts and those interested in the tea growing and blending processes.

Usefulness of Content: This is an enjoyable and interesting corporate site for people who want to learn about the company, types of teas and where they are grown, or tea making establishments in London. However, the content on the site is limited and the information is kept extremely simple, so anyone who wants any sort of in-depth information would have to look elsewhere. The interactive elements are enjoyable and well-designed. For example, viewers can scroll through a visual timeline of corporate history, click through a world map showing tea varieties produced in different regions, and interact with a “Which tea?” animation that selects a tea based on user input.

Consistency of Design: The site presents a visually appealing layout that is colorful but streamlined and simple throughout. The header bar maintains a standard structure and logo in each section, but the large photograph changes to match the content of the section. The site designers use green as a base color for tabs, text headings, links within text and some borders, promoting a natural, organic image. When the interactive panels are loading, they display a beige background with a steeping cup of tea in the center, the steam lightly rising as the panel loads. This is an example of how the designers focus and unify the graphics of the whole site. Also, many of the photos on the site are presented in photo corners, suggesting a photo album or scrapbook.

Ease of Navigation: This site uses a fairly standard system of tabs located just underneath the header bar, with sub-categories listed in a row underneath the tabs. Occasionally there is also a menu bar on the left side of the page. Because the content of the site is so limited, navigation is very simple. The designers use expanding menus in several locations – to list varieties of tea, for example – which allow the user to access further information without leaving the current page. There is also a footer containing contact information and a graphic divider that is consistent throughout the site.