Canon USA
http://www.usa.canon.com/home
On the home page there are 5 primary navigation systems and each of them makes sense to the browsers. There seems no hierarchy among the navigation systems as no one appears more prominent than others. The logo of Canon USA is always on top at every page, so it is clear how to get back to the home page. However, when you go to a second level of the site, the primary navigations disappear and rearrange in a different way and this might cause some confusions. Plus the bread crumbs do not always appear to show where you are, so you may have no idea about your location within the site. Many times you may have to go to a higher level to confirm where you are and then again go further.
Due to the fact that Canon has lots of products to sell in this site, the architecture of the site appears to be very deep and sometimes messy. Interestingly enough, the site map shows a clear structure of the site and keeps me wonder why the site does not reflect the clarity of the site map. Because the site has so many pages, there are many links appear as you browse further into the site. It is almost impossible to access any page within the site at any time.
The typography is shown in a clear hierarchy as the heading are in bigger fonts and heavier line weights than the body paragraph. This site appears to be imagery-driven, so the content is about product names and descriptions. Therefore, there is no strong need to make headlines more prominent than others. The labels are quite easy to understand and search.
The basic structure of the pages stay consistent from page to page. The top banner and navigation menus always show on top and become very helpful. Looking the page showing you where to buy Canon cameras, the focal point is the list of cameras, which include photos and name of each camera models they carry. By quickly browsing the page, you understand about how many choices you have in terms of shopping a Canon camera.
In terms of iconography, there is surprisingly no icons being using in this site. Images shown are all very crisp and straightforward as trying not to create confusions for Canon’s prospective clients. Also, the photos are all professionally taken and presented and the browsers feel the high quality of the products they are about to shop. I think the amount of imagery is about right.
The color palette of the site is simply white, black and red. Red is carried from the logo while black and white help clean the look of the site. White background and black fonts on every page make the content easy to read. Black and white create a professional and calm environment to display the high tech products. The simple color palette also reflects the brand’s design philosophy and trend.
This is a site created to sell Canon product and help its consumers find additional information and services, such as downloading menus or product registration. It is very important that the site allows its browsers to search and the search results are quite specific with more choices then you may expect. The product tours showing videos of most products offered in the site is very helpful and informative. The site is currently working well, but it will be great if the navigation menus show more clearly regarding how the site manages its products into various categories.
