Nice website at COPIA, the relatively new, not-for-profit museum/cultural center in Napa. One of my brother-in-laws works in their IT department. He was telling me about the group that designed the site, and sure enough, there’s a link to DIGITAL DEVIANTS on this sophisticated organization’s home page.

The Digital Deviants site bothers me. It throws up a new window with only a status bar, then plays a Flash animation that can’t be skipped. Reminds me of the FBI warnings at the beginning of a DVD. Once inside the site, you are navigated to their about page, so that you can read all about them. I’m starting to think the first time you visit will probably be your last.

I know these web design companies have to show off all their tricks, but some thought should be given to the image you are trying to convey. I like the website of my friend Steven’s company, Csorba Design and Marketing Group. This site gives you a choice between an HTML or Flash experience. If you choose Flash another window opens (not even a status bar on this one) and their cool animation plays. The big ENTER button on the right side invites you to skip the moving words if you’ve been there before. Once inside there’s lots of info, and you get to choose where you want to go. The fight-fight selection under the COMPANY menu is quite amusing.