As I am toying around with a redesign of my website, I am curious if it feels too simplistic or sparse for your trained eyes, or if the features of the page are even discoverable.
http://www.rayflectar-graphics.com/root-rayflectar-new/index.html
(It is just one page for now. Never mind the links; they go to the old site which will be obsolete soon)
Thanks !
As a general rule, navigation should not be hidden. I’d keep it fully visible at all times. The mission is communication, not puzzle solving.
i tend to agree.
that said, i found the navigation options easily enough… within a couple of seconds after the page load. -or- not enough to be annoyed by it.
but then again, i like puzzles 
Thanks guys !
Yeah, that was kinda the underlying question. On one hand cluttered websites with too much choice, clog the decision process and end up not being memorable. So I am trying to experiment with only the bare minimum needed to convey a message and with sparse subtle and active cues to give a page a hint of video came feel.
I like the simplicity of the opening page and I moved the mouse instinctively straight to the central image - the options appeared, a really nice effect.
The patent images may benefit from sub-folders - just love the top-hat wine cooler, I guess it doubles as a hat??
Have you tried this on any mobile device? I’m wondering how the navigation will work with a touch interface…
Screenshot on iphone.
I guess the font size could be adjusted for smartphones.
Maybe shifting everything a bit to the center might help some left hand users, so as to not reach far out.
I’m only getting a static page on my phone (chrome mobile browser).
Unfortunately, this day and age good mobile functionality is a great plus.
-Willem
Thanks for the feedback guys.
At this point I am not even bothering with mobile, since I am not sure I will adapt this design as final at all.
i’m not getting any menus on a rollover or click here in Chrome.
i like the mouse over effect, using processing by chance?
edit: i just tried in safari on my mac and it works, i am seeing the pulsating circle and the “about” popup unlike before. IMO i like it, i don’t think it needs menus that stand out at all. the user is going to be drawn in by the mouse over circle effect and move around on their own because it’s a cool effect.
another opinion, the banner on the left is a little out of the way since mousing over the center popups the content to the right pulling the user to that side and they might not explore to the left thinking it is just a static image.
what about instead of having the content popout on the right, have it pop out like a sunburst/wagon wheel around the center and have the “about” popup as well at the bottom at the same time. it would also add to the mouseover effect with the background as the user moves around to the nodes.
sorry if this is too forward btw
i think nowadays you’re supposed to design with mobile in mind from the get-go instead of an afterthought 
edit- for example, i’m pretty sure this forum software, Discourse, was built for mobile right out of the gate.
I realize the page was broken for most of the day, because I was working on its Javascript engine.
It is not supposed to be static. not even on mobile.
Thus far I know its behavior on Android is identical to the desktop.
All great points. The geometric arrangement is no problem (the buttons could be anywhere in any pattern). I started them on the right side to balance the bar on the left, and during the mouse travel in between you get to play with the camera pan at the expense of distances and mouse travel. This is something to improve for sure.
Currently, it feels a bit too sparse for my taste as well, there is a bit of white space which could carry a little more information without cluttering too much.
Thanks for checking btw.
thank you for your tools and scripts through the years, I’ve gotten a lot of use out of them!
kleerkoat
Ideed it’s working again.
I like your unique setup, it triggers me to think you are an out of the box thinker.
For ease of use I expect the menu to remain after coming back from a content page. Having to click the image to get the menu each time is a little annoying.