The great design of the website of Barack Obama
The sense and the aesthetics of barackobama.com
If Obama becomes the next president of the USA, I think his website will have played a major part for his success. Obviously, he and his partners treat their website the way they should: as the most solid and valid vehicle to promote their ideas to all people around the globe, 24/7/365. This website is their virtual home, which is neat, tidy and welcomes a visitor and a future fan of their party.
Aesthetically, barackobama.com stands at higher level of a typical american website but at the same time the major colors of it are 100% american. However, it is simple and all the blue colors of it don’t make it look crowded or dull.
Thanks to the clear organization of the content, it becomes useful to a US voter. Furthermore, visitors can find a number of ways to promote their favorite candidate by following simple steps e.g. buying a t-shirt. I like this approach, it is another way to see how a website can bring money.
Why design makes the difference
Good design is not magic. And good websites are not being made by magicians. This website works so well because of some design rules have been followed. The rules are:
- The excellent typography
- The right use of negative spacing
An old good quote says: “many people can choose a good font but only a few will tae typography”. barackobama.com treats typography so well.
I won’t try to explain the details. I only want to mention that the previously shown text has been perfectly designed. Despite the fact there is no image in there it welcomes a visitor and it invites him to read it.
Similarly, the designers of this website know how to treat the negative (or white) space. Each text flows, there are clear messages and there is no rush to put all the content above the fold. Each banner has been wisely designed and each call to action is clear and intuitive.
Combining such characteristics with the beautiful icons and the rest of the colors, the website becomes engaging, beautiful and easy to be used.
barackobama.com is great because all the design issues mentioned above serve the real king, which is of corse the specific content of the website. Text, images, videos and generally each content item has been placed at the right place. The same design would be of no use for an. e.g. website for world travelers.
A designer votes…
If a was a US resident and if my vote was determined only by what I see in a browser I would vote for Obama.
I am not claiming that baracobama.com is perfect. If you take a look at the code behind it you will notice a bunch of mistakes. All I am trying to say is that design can make the difference and websites for political parties rarely look so well.