Tennessee Vacation

Blimey, it's busy! I like it though. The credit would appear to go to the folk at www.designsensory.com

is it just me, or does the header graphic "Fall In Tenessee" not quite fit in into everything? It looks like it's stuffed in afterwards, resulting in the fact that the "welcome" header graphic doesn't come out as it should: it's muffled between the other graphics. Above that it took me some time to find the navigation menu between all those graphics ... (don't get me wrong, I like the graphics themselves, but not the composition they are in).

The code looks good but, as David mentionned, the image map should be dropped. Other than that it looks rather nifty :)

Summing it all up:

- Good code (near perfect if the imagemap were dropped).

- Layout is good, but it's way too packed, even on big resolutions.

Best regards,

B!

Nice style but layout is a mess. No visual hierarchy and no guidance of the user to navigate the content.

Working for one of the largest tourism design/marketing/search engine optimization firms in the South, I have to say the overall design and layout of this site is quite distracting and poorly organized for an end-user (traveler/vacationer) to gather information on a particular tourist area or location. Like mentioned in earlier posts, there is no direct hierarchy for the content and the content seems like quite the after thought for the pages when it should be the exact opposite.

However, with all of that said though, coming from a design background this is one of the more "fresh" and appealing designs I have seen in quite a while. The color scheme is soothing, the graphical style unique and the typography stellar. Quite the oxymoron of thoughts I am sure, but something just doesn't fit for this particular style for the state of Tennessee.

Nonetheless, impressive but ill-fitting.

Wow! The level of detail in this site is simply astounding. There are enough visual treats here to fill up an entire gallery site!

Yes it is cluttered, but it has charm. Magnificent work!

Really fun site, their other version is also brilliant.

Wow indeed. Visually it's very impressive and it's really fun to explore. I can't fault the graphic design and attention to detail, superb work!

The only detrimental thing I would say is that it's accessibility level is low (try scaling the font size!) which, for a tourist information website, is a bit of a concern.

Some site are there purely for their information, others are their to convey an experience. This one is defiantly the experience and then the information.

I have never been to Tennessee, and it looks like fun to me! This site is graphically fun and gorgeous. I am jealous of the brief! The time and attention to detail is obvious. Usability, I had no problems, it felt like exploring!

Don't know about anyone else but there is always room for a fun different site. We have loads of minimalist ones, bring on the clutter!

Yes it is a little cluttered and has charm, but it looks too much of a print work than a webpage, and even though it's pretty to watch, I don't think it really gives the user the information he or she seeks in a tourist site in the best way.

Wow I love the design! It is so beautiful!! Really wonderful graphics, it is nice to see something quite different and fresh.

On a seperate note - from someone who isn't familiar with tourist attractions in the states I found it hard to find useful information on the site. The other graphics were distracting and it would be more useful have photos of the places to visit or stay.

Great gaphic design, but I think that it is too busy, too much crammed into the top page.

That's simply awesome!

The design potential is certainly there (and it's better then anything I could have come up with right now), but I think considering the target audience it doesn't do it's job - this site should easily convery information with some graphic appeal, rather then the reverse.

Just my 2c though

Nice conept and all but I only dislike it coz of the too much font's around get's you a little bit confused where you are :p

overall nice site.

Great colors and collage; a very interesting mix of textures, type, photographs and tidbits. I especially like the idea of the fall site, putting an emphasis on the lovely fall colors, what a great idea!

A very fine site indeed. Great find.

I hear alot of "its too busy" or "it's too cluttered", but it's also, oh, so tastefullly done. The detailed work this designer put into is appreciative. Each section has its own uniqueness and he/she took that advantage to the fullest to make each stand out than the others. Composition may seem to be a bit off, but it's still well-balanced.

Ok, now for my b*tching.... as I try to navigate thru the site, I find myself lost on a page where I cant go back to the previous ones without having to click the back button from the browser. I had to go thru each page at least 3 times to get comfortable of where the intended information is placed.

So, in other words... very great detailed work, but it also confuses the audience half way thru the site.

I agree with the "it has more of print feel to it". I was immediately awed by this design. But I thought this would look great as a print design. But with that said.

I believe that the site isn't cluttered as it looks. I believe because of the graphic and color use it appears that way. If all graphics where taken out it was have a simple layout with a 3-Column, header and footer.

Nice design and it's refreshing to seem someone step out of what's been the common ground for some time now.

I really like the attention to detail in the design. Busy... but in a good way.

However am i the only person who seems to have noticed that it doesnt even validate to XHTML transitional??

6/10 for me!

I have to disagree slightly on some of the comments about this site's layout and navigational elements.

While this site is busy, I believe that was the intention. It's like a tourism notice board, trying to grab your attention.

You can tell that the designer obviously cares for those that are more inclined to pay attention to text, by adding a text navigation at the bottom of the page.

I like it, we should spread out more and be more creative like this site!

Love love love love love it - it's like looking through the pages of an artists sketch book - and that's where you find some of the most interesting and original design ideas. There is a lot going on, but a disagree with any critisism that it is 'cluttered'. Cluttering occurs when elements are thrown together without care and consideration. Every area has been well considered and the design choices are brave and confident. It 'screams' to be explored. Wonderful stuff ...

Good code, great design and colours! I like so much!

Really it's a good project! :)

I think that visually it's just way way too much. My first impression was that it looks like they tried to cram as much onto the pages as possible. As was said above, it really doesn't guide the user in any real clear way. Codewise, it doesn't validate.

@kevadamson: I agree, it screams to be explored. But who wants to explore for information when you are a tourist?

Tourists love exploring. It's what they do.

I love the use of hover in the "Navigate by interest" section. I thought it was a new image swapped in for the hover, but it actually seems to be a different part of the same image, revealed by a shift in position. I've never seen it done this way before -- is it a new idea, or have I been living under a rock?

"I've never seen it done this way before -- is it a new idea, or have I been living under a rock?"

It is quite an old idea. Nothing new about it. :)

As for the design. I like the graphics but not how they've been applied, especially the composition and amount of color combinations, typographic combinations make my head spin. The whole layout is far too loud and the color composition makes me aggressive if I stay on the page for more than a minute or two. This is - of course - a matter of personal preference.

Doesn't this site just have too much CSS?

OMG!! This site doesn't validate, boycott it! Now I see why 37signals disabled their comments.

It's been a long time since a site design has amazed me. Great find, Kyle.

at first I was; "wow", and I do respect the use of CSS - but as you move through the site it becomes visual overkill. Themes don't blend as well as I'd like, and as far as an informative piece this information is staggard and choppy.

As a art piece it's great, putting this comp together must have taken days, good work.

I found it fantastic! At first, it may seem busy, but I noticed as you explore more, it becomes almost an adventure. That, in my opinion, corresponds with the site's theme - travel & adventure!

The use of graphics amazed me due to how long creating something like that would take. As a result, I noticed the connection between retro charm and country homeland that was all wrapped up in open mindness so as to include all audiences.

In a nutshell, a very fun and beautiful site. Well done indeed!

It is very busy, and the use of manilla backgrounds makes it a little bland...

The amount of time and imagination involved w/ this design is apparent...

It does give the site user the "calling"...come to Tennessee. There is an astounding amount of information here, you name it it's there.

And If you think you can't find your way to the pages without hitting the back button, try registering on the site... and you can create a "My Tennessee" vacation site... how cool is that!

I think, this site deserves better rating than 5+ :)

The good graphics although little too much. Text is crammed too. The map looks like it has been added later on as after-thought. Top navigation does not look prominent enough.

Otherwise great design job. Very pleasing.

A little bit too much graphics for my taste, yet very well made and surely a notable entry.

Nothing more to say but: you'd rather want to visit Tennessee than any German town/area after viewing _their_ websites (just search for "germany tourism" and you'll see what I mean.)

In answer to your request of who is responsible for tnvacations.com the site is one of the official sites of Tennessee from the Tennessee Tourist Department. Another very good Tennessee site for lake vacations belongs to a friend of mine at www.tennesseelakevacations.com, you all need to come visit here, the scenery and landscaping is every bit as nice as the sites! :) Hope this helped solve your mystery.

The firm responsible for the site is Designsensory (www.designsensory.com).

Calling red, "crimson" is cowardly, and that is all I have to say about the matter. O Yeah, I almost forgot..... the south lost!

The multiple color combinations and typeface uses fit well with Tennessee. They have become well known in the past 10 years for their letterpress style of design. Check out hatchshowprint.com and yeehawindustries.com. You can see the influence and the rich sense of tradition associated with it. Inudstrial revolution style typography was busy and overwhelming for a reason...to try to stand out from the masses. Enough with the history lesson, just research industry revoltion style typography and you will make the connection.