[zoom in screenshot - 52K]

Route66
http://www.route66.com.au

Category:
Shopping

Created by:
Tim Kotsiakos in 2001

Rating:
Not rated yet

Date added:
Dec 28th, 2001

Last updated:
Jan 4th, 2002

Tools Used:
Adobe Photoshop, BBEdit, Macromedia Dreamweaver

Designer's words:
Route66 was created on a very modest budget for a market sensitive audience. It had to look authentic and hand-crafted without being patronizing and most of all, it had to instantly generate more sales.

The typical shopper at Route66 probably either has a quiff, sideburns and a lead sled parked out the front, or bangs, red lipstick and a tattoo of Big Daddy Roth's 'Rat Fink' on their back. That is, Route66 is a store for 'Rod and custom clothing' and doesn't stock cargo pants or 'hello kitty' back packs.

From the very beginning the creative concept was heavily influenced by posters advertising gigs, hot rod flicks and drag racing events of the 50's and 60's (eg: Art Chantry). These were mostly screen printed to cut costs and used only a few colors. They also used friendly cursive typography with a real human voice. This aesthetic really suited the retro style of the clothing and also suggested honesty and modesty which was ideal. The real personal feel helps to earn the trust of shoppers and extends the all ready existing personal 'get-to-know-you' approach taken by the staff of the actual store.

Providing for different shopping behaviors was also very important. Shoppers that know exactly what they are looking for and those that are just browsing both lead to the same sale. I didn't think it was appropriate to use DHTML or flash, a standard 3 framed format proved to be the simplest. The bottom frame allows shoppers to scroll horizontally through thumbnails left and right, and once an item has been selected the top frame refreshes with more information on that particular product. This best mimics the real-life behavior of shopping in the actual store. Instead of sifting through lists of meaningless names or numbers the shopper can scan over the thumbnails (like glancing amongst ranks of clothes in store) and let a particular color or style catch their eye. I have also employed a simple javascript 'drop-down' menu for sub categories in each section to accommodate lengthy sub category names down the track.

Ordering is rudimentary for now although a more integrated approach is planned for down the track. Shoppers can print out and fax/post an order form of email and complete the transaction over the phone.

The client is happy, and so are shoppers. Traffic has increased significantly as has orders.

Our comments:
Route66 is an Australian retro clothing store. 50's style illustrations and authentic fonts are used to support content on a unique three-pane, slightly distorted rectangular page layout. Every single item is displayed on a non-white background with subtle drop-shadows. It is clear that the designer Kotsiakos has spent quite some time on cutting out each and every item from its background, and it shows! Items are displayed across the bottom of the page, and you can select different types with a drop-down menu. We think it would be better if the menu was composed of regular links given the low number of items.

--Aycan