Bells and whistles!!! But no real design

I know one should focus on good design ideas and be inspired by them. I promise I will do that from now on (after this post, I mean). I just couldn't help it, I had to share the frustration and astonishment that this website made me feel: http://www.cockchester.com/ It's in a certain way like my last post about the world's worst website. It's just that, in this case, it's real, not a joke.

Unfortunately, the site is in Spanish so, you'll have to take my word for it in many aspects. On the other hand, the design sins showcased here are so rampant that language is definitely not a barrier  to understanding the atrocities committed.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the website was that it was impossible to know at first glance what the site was about or what the business was behind it. The menu at the bottom of the page is difficult to see.  It is not obvious at all that you are supposed to click on the plus sign at the centre top of the page to see the menu.

When you are eventually able to catch up with the eight hovering pluses and hold your mouse over one of them, a link to one of the sites' sections will appear on the screen. There is not apparent connection between these links and the plus that represents them. They are random titles that don't offer relevant information to the visitor (titles like: "expressive, our friends" or "creative, our work" which don't make sense in Spanish either). Once you click on any of the links it's difficult to click on any of the objects that appear in their place, as they to keep on moving. It feels like you are hunting them down on the screen. There is too much movement, the navigation becomes annoying and stressful.

This screenshot showcases a group of five moving circles you are expected to click on after the pluses -- good luck.

The back and forward buttons on the browser don't work on the website past the homepage. If you click on them on any of the child pages you'll immediately be kicked off the site and back to Google (or whatever page you were looking at before).

If you manage to not be ejected from the site, and look around for a while, you finally realize that the company is an advertising agency. It takes a long time and patience to figure that out.

As a side note, the whole page was designed in Flash, which makes it difficult to access from PDAs (specially iPhones) and tablets (specially iPads).

The Good


OK, I admit it. Not everything is bad. But the good has nothing to do with design. If you manage to have the patience and time to drill deep, deep down and happen to find the portfolio of services (radio and TV ads), they are good. Just don't ever hire Cockchester to design your website or communications strategy, that will be a huge mistake.

The Colours
I understand that black and red are Cockchester + Partner's corporate colors and because of this it makes sense to feature them on the website. The problem is when they overdo them and create a claustrophobic feeling. When looking at the colours, memories from childhood came to my mind, the ones where you got sick after eating too much candy. It's so intense and overwhelming, that you definitely want to leave the website in less than one minute.

Conclusion: 

The website was designed to show-off and completely forgot about the end user. It's not a effective tool for business or communication. It does show that they have good Flash programers. The most important lesson here is: Don't forget your customer. It's not about "preaching to him or her" about how great you are doing fancy things on the internet. It's about effectively impressing your customer by catering to his/her needs and establishing a relevant channel of communication between the parties.  

P.S. If you feel like providing some feedback, you can email: cock@cockchester.com (Yes, it's a real email, I'm not kidding!)