There are many details that grate on me: the slow drop down menus, the ugly gray gradient background, the pictures with people wearing sunglasses that I can barely see, the labels that use all caps, the small, blurry font, the lack of a true home page (just a splash-page picture of a girl with wild hair, which, truthfully, would mollify me some if I could get back to it), and the totally boring implementation of the backwards/reflection/different view theme.

But what really gets me down about the site is the way the use of Flash actively detracts from my experience of the site.

1) It's slow. Each navigation entails the same transition animation. In the beginning, this animation acts as a preloader…but then, once the content is loaded, I STILL need to wait. WHY?

2) It's repetitive. How many times do I have to see the same transition animation? It gets old quick.

3) It's confusing. I want to see sunglasses. Where are they? The searches often yield nothing. It's not clear what I had been searching for. Once I make selections, I still need to press GO. Once thumbnails are loaded, I need to scroll (and the scrolling sucks). If I press the thumbnail, I get a medium-sized picture. Then I can press various buttons to get an even larger picture in a pop up (!), or some meaningless measurements, or (the button with the refresh symbol!) I can rotate a smallish 3d image of the glasses (talk about burying the lead).

It feels like every poorly designed site–arbitrary and disempowering. I always feel like I'm a dizzy, drunken trail of clicks away from where I want to be.

Thing is, I'm not some useability prude or text-obsessed Slashdot geek…I actually believe in the potential of Flash. This site could make shopping for sun glasses pleasurable and efficient. It does not…in fact, its html version is heads-and-shoulders easier to use.

Tags: speed · gripes · FlashNo Comments