I would rate the site a B-
There is no focus and nothing compelling me to search deeper into the site if I am not already a convert. The site is preaching to the choir rather than trying to sway people through argument. It is dark and dangerous and not a nice place to be.
Compare it to this: Story of Stuff
You could argue that the Story of Stuff is even more sad but the site looks happy and engaging. I would not have looked deeper into the website if it was not so open and airy. It felt fun and so I watched the excellent Flash movie. You will also note that navigation is out of the way of the content.
The focus of the site is clear. While there are probably twice as many links as I would like, they do not seem overwhelming. I love the links on the left with the icons.
I would rate the storyofstuff.com an A- (too many links and not a clear distinction between them).
But wait! There is more…
So the folks who crated storyofstuff.com have an excellent website.
- Nav on the top is clear, separated from the rest of the content and companycentric.
- The Flash file loads while you are getting oriented to the site and does not detract from you reading once it has finished loading and begins to play.
- The Flash content is subtle (map mask is great!) and informative.
- Featured projects are easy to digest and not overwhelming (they do not list 6 with long descriptions).
- Call-to-action (sign up for newsletter/podcast)
- Nice length of text for the “who we are and why we are so good” marketing text
- Fluff links are regular hyperlinks and relegated to the bottom right to show they are not important
While the background image emotes it is a bit dark and heavy. If the soil were lighter and maybe a bit of red/yellow I think it would accomplish what they desire while at the same time make their site feel a bit happier 😉
Overall it is one of the best and informative websites I have seen in a while. I rate it a solid A