Gucci.com goes wiiiiide
A screenshot of a portion of the Gucci.com handbag page.
Web designers are always supposed to be mindful of viewers’ monitors widths. A lot of us have very large monitors to work on, and it can be too easy to make a website that goes off the screen of another smaller monitor. Nobody wants to scroll horizontally!
The site developers and designers of Gucci.com have decided to go wide anyway with a very usable and sleek design that is like strolling down a 20′ foot line of high-end shelving in a real store, but it works well for any size monitor. I refer to their handbags page as I work with luxury bags myself, and like to see how other companies are doing it.
The Gucci handbags page opens up to show a nav on the left that allows you to narrow your search according to features, and then to the right of that, columns containing grids of up to six bags each. On my visit, you could horizontally scroll through about 10 columns. Next to each column is a small arrow which can allow the viewer to scroll easily through the columns, like turning pages in a catalog. No need to scroll!
Click any of the bags and the column expands. The bag comes out of it’s grid cell like someone is actually taking it off the shelf, then is showcased in an information pod at the right. This is where the copy is, and the “add to shopping bag” button.
This is how nice the zoom feature works for Gucci.com
What I really liked in addition to the great site design was the quality of the photography and the nice zoom feature. A viewer just clicks on the thumbnail and the zoom brings the viewer face to face with killer detail and texture. Here is where a great retoucher (like me!) can come in handy.
This is an inventive and intuitive way to show high-end bags online. I really feel like I’m in a beautiful store, and the way the bags are presented emulates as much as a web store can how it feels to pick up a product and ogle the details.
My only complaint: No alternative views or look-in shots of the bags. I want to see how much I can cram in it. Are there any pockets? What’s the back look like? What does it look like on a person? What other cool features would I need to see if I picked this up in a store? If your company isn’t brand-famous like Gucci, it would be wise to show multiple shots of all views.
If you can’t afford a massive site design overhaul like this, investing in quality photography, professional retouching and showing multiple views will go a longer way than most (because most aren’t doing it! Have you noticed?). Do you know anyone who’ll drop even just $200 on a blurry, muddy looking .jpg? Could be the nicest bag in the world. How would anyone know it?
