Does horizontal web design.. work?

Inazuma · 2 Jan 2009 at 22:27

I just came across this site
http://massiveblack.com/
The first thing you see is a wide logo.
Click Projects
You are now presented with a showcase running horizontally rather than the traditional vertical. The navigation is also present on both sides of the content.

Is it just me or is there something quite pleasant about this?
...I feel less in a rush to scroll through the content.. I eye each image individually because it scrolls past.. somewhat like if you were walking along an art gallery.

What do you think?

Mirage · 2 Jan 2009 at 22:55

bit un-sure about the horizontal scroll, but that website holds some awesome art work. Website has been saved!

Sic · 2 Jan 2009 at 22:56

I did a horizontal scroll site for a friend recently. We worked together on how the horizontal stuff would work and I really love how it came out.

www.younggogetter.co.uk

Shoseki · 2 Jan 2009 at 23:03

No, horrible. Pages are pages, not the Bayeux Tapestry...

mr.sly · 2 Jan 2009 at 23:10

I think it can be good for displaying work and the scroll wheel has to work as well.

Another nice horizontal site.

http://deanoakley.com/

Russinating · 2 Jan 2009 at 23:51

I don't like them personally. Some work, but the majority don't.

Shoseki · 3 Jan 2009 at 01:52

The dean oakley one sucks.

TwoSaints · 3 Jan 2009 at 02:48

Sic said:
I did a horizontal scroll site for a friend recently. We worked together on how the horizontal stuff would work and I really love how it came out.

www.younggogetter.co.uk

This on is nice, but generally they dont work, the one in the OP is too tall as well so I have to scroll up and down as well as across on my laptop.

Joobs · 3 Jan 2009 at 09:33

I like using my scrollwheel, so any site that forces me to use a toolbar is annoying. It can also be hard to figure out where something starts and ends on horizontal sites.

Pulse · 3 Jan 2009 at 09:42

Sic said:
I did a horizontal scroll site for a friend recently. We worked together on how the horizontal stuff would work and I really love how it came out.

www.younggogetter.co.uk

I'm sorry is this site slightly broken or is the following how it's meant to work?

Right so I've click Web and it's expanded with one site, after clicking on that to shrink it, a new website has now appeared. And for instance, when I click Britfilms and then close it, Whisper has now appeared.

Sic · 3 Jan 2009 at 10:03

Pulse said:
I'm sorry is this site slightly broken or is the following how it's meant to work?

Right so I've click Web and it's expanded with one site, after clicking on that to shrink it, a new website has now appeared. And for instance, when I click Britfilms and then close it, Whisper has now appeared.

What browser are you using? It should go:

Click to open one
All of it and the next thumbnail comes out.
You can either close it or open the next one, or open another section entirely to close off the one you were currently viewing and start on a new one.

Pulse · 3 Jan 2009 at 10:13

Sic said:
What browser are you using? It should go:

Click to open one
All of it and the next thumbnail comes out.
You can either close it or open the next one, or open another section entirely to close off the one you were currently viewing and start on a new one.

I'm using Firefox 3.0.5.

If I open 'Prints' I get 'Gas Mask' and 'Anarchy Girl'. Gas Mask being the first one is expended, Anarchy Girl is just the thumbnail. When I open Anarchy the next thumbnail then appears, 'Summer Show 08'.

Sic · 3 Jan 2009 at 10:35

Yeah, that's how you know that there's more content to look at. When you're at the last one open, you don't get the next thumbnail.

No disrespect to you, but I do find it weird how some people find it very difficult to adjust their way of thinking to a horizontal website. We mulled the way it all works over for ages and this is the best method we could think of to get all the content and navigation in.

Out of interest, how would you have it work?

Pulse · 3 Jan 2009 at 10:46

It's not that I don't like the design lol, I was just expecting it to show all the thumbnails within each section at once, that's all

Sic · 3 Jan 2009 at 10:53

I wasn't getting touchy - I'm just interested in how people expect sites like this to work. I don't normally do brochurey sites, so it's quite good to get some feedback on how people expect them to work if they're not intuitive straight away.

Sherbs · 5 Jan 2009 at 21:41

Looks like a normal site on my 24"

Amraam · 5 Jan 2009 at 22:50

Not a fan of the horizontal scrolling personally, but I can tell a lot of thought and work has gone into these sites!

Good job!

V4NT0M · 5 Jan 2009 at 22:55

Why do horizontal when you can do vertical?

Hxc · 5 Jan 2009 at 23:10

Sic said:
I did a horizontal scroll site for a friend recently. We worked together on how the horizontal stuff would work and I really love how it came out.

www.younggogetter.co.uk

Would be a lot better if there were a way, when say scrolling through things in each section, that you could close it without having to press the back button repeatedly.

Otherwise love it

Sic · 5 Jan 2009 at 23:21

The current open heading closes when you open another one, if that's what you mean? Or do you mean to just completely close any one whenever you want? The guy who owns it is always looking for ways to line my pocket, so I'm all for feedback

Thanks very much

Skyfall said:
Why do horizontal when you can do vertical?

it's something a bit different, and you really have to think about how everything works from a totally different perspective. Having done one, I love to see how people have attacked the problem and what they've come up with. I can totally see how they'd be annoying from an end-user who just wants to look at the site's point of view though!