[Jaine Perotti]

I like the new flash intro to the FIRST site. I like the retro look... it almost reminds me of an old concert poster. The only problem I have with it (and this goes for the previous intro page as well), is that the color scheme does not match the rest of the page at all. For a page with the FIRST color scheme (of primarily white, with accent colors of red and blue) a big yellow and baby blue retro-style animation in the middle of the page almost seems out of place to me. I think FIRST should try to pick one style/color scheme and stick with it. Either make the page totally formal looking with the red, white, and blue, or make it more colorful and enticing with the bright colors and style of the intro animation.

If I were designing the page, I think I would chose to design the site around the intro animation, and make the whole site more colorful and aesthetically pleasing. I have never really liked the FIRST site in the first place (I've always found it difficult to navigate and find what I'm looking for), and I don't think it is particularly attractive either. I think what I would do is make the whole page color-coordinated, and LESS WHITE. Just like white walls in houses bother me, mostly white web pages are usually kind of boring (although if they are well designed and aesthetically pleasing, they can be nice). Also maybe more Flash should be used for a nicer, cleaner look (although I don't know if everyone likes Flash). As for the exact color scheme I would use, I think I would go with clean looking light blues and light reds, with bright, primary blues and reds used as accent colors (on hovered links for example). I would also choose nicer fonts, and overall make it look clean, professional, and aesthetically pleasing.

Maybe I should go into web design instead of engineering...