View Larger Map

Part 2: Travelling the Amazon

July 7th, 2010

By Matt Cook
Point.Click Media

Last week we began looking at how Amazon has solidified itself as a leader in e-commerce without having to undergo any major face lifts or radical changes in layout.

We’ve come across two active trends right away that can be attributed to Amazon – the tab menu system and the fluid layout. As we move toward the present we begin to see a few subtle changes to the website that don’t necessarily call for any alarms, but are still notable enough to change the way users navigate the website.

amazon2008

Well here it is… the big Amazon redesign. Are you wondering what has changed yet? Believe it or not this redesign was fairly significant to Amazon users. They’ve elected to ditch the horizontal tab system that had been almost synonymous with the Amazon brand and go with a left aligned vertical menu, something that is almost contradictory to the current trend where top horizontal navigation is becoming increasingly popular. One thing is for certain now:  When you go to Amazon, you’re there for shopping and they’ve made it known. The new menu begins with a very eye catching title reading: “Shop All Departments.”

It’s also interesting to see the expansion in products. Books are still the number one seller (located at the top of the menu), but you can see just how far the Amazon brand goes. Heck, they’ve even introduced their own book reader – the Kindle, which could completely change the way we read books altogether. This massive expansion could also be a main reason for the switch in navigation. If you take a look at the old tab menu system from the early 2000’s, you can see how quickly the tabs can begin piling up and causing a bit of a clutter. Having a vertical menu system allows much more room for expansion.

Check out the live working page by clicking here (Wayback Machine)

amazon2010

The redesign from 2008 has been streamlined into a thin blue bar for searching with all of your shopping needs on the left. Boy, they’re really pushing that Kindle aren’t they? Despite the redesign (if you even want to call it that), one thing has stayed the same throughout each phase of this study:  The product is the star of the show. Even today you won’t see a bunch of flashy rollover buttons or animated banners advertising a 5% off John Denver MP3s Labour Day Bonanza. Amazon only uses imagery when they need to, and it works. Their track record speaks for itself.

Pictured above is the current website at amazon.com

Sometimes slow and steady does win the race.

Let us know what you think. Contact Point.Click Media.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Posted in Branding Reviews on July 7th, 2010

Have a Question? Leave a Reply!