In this post I will be comparing the websites of Nobuyoshi Arak and Mikiko Hara. I will be looking at the design, layout, colour palette, typography and also technical aspects such as navigation, ease of use, presentation of galleries and how easy it is to use and understand the artist.
Mikiko Hara
I will begin with Mikiko Hara and her website. The website is clean and well presented on the homepage with a clear sans serif font on a white background. The words are well spaced and it is easy to read the introduction to the artist. The introduction sits on the left hand side and includes a small biography underneath on the right hand side where your eye is drawn to there is a still image of her work (Untitled 2008) This still like is representative of the work the artist creates and the colour tonality and frame emphasis the subtle beauty of her pieces. In the header there is a clear navigation bar that includes all areas of her work and on the homepage there is a further navigation bar with links to those pages. In the footer there is a wide range of social links and the copyright is up to date (2024) also placed in the footer. There is also a search bar in the footer which is useful.
The next page that I clicked into was the Biography of the artist this page is laid out in a similar manner to the homepage and includes the same image, this is a pity, as it would have been more interesting to have a different image as the artist has a wide range of work. The biography is laid out in Education, Exhibitions and Publications and does give a clear timeline of the artists work.
The following pages - Press - this has just one item and it is in the left hand corer of the page and is from the exhibition ;Just visiting this Planet' from 2022, This perhaps could have been incorporated on another page or more reviews/press added as this is a bit of an empty page. The exhibitions page again is a just one exhibition the same as the press page with one image and an introduction this again is from 2022. The following page has events with three examples but again not resent ones.
The more interesting pages are 'series' and 'works' both these pages contain the body of her works and so here there is a wide array of projects that can be viewed. for instance if I go into Angus Dei I can see all the images from this project and when I click into the image this is presented well and expands with all the image details on the left hand side.
I can even click 'view on wall' and see this in a domestic space, there is also an inquire button which mean I can inquire if I wish to buy this or any other print on the sit. The works page is very similar this is just singular works but the page works and is presented in the same way. The last page is art fairs and shows two art fairs. I do think there are perhaps too many pages here and some pages are not that useful and I personally would pare this down to present just the best work and stick to the gallery pages. Overall I enjoyed the website it was clean and easy to use and read and also I could fins all the information I wanted and view the artist work well through very good presentation of work.
Nobuyoshi Araki
The second website I will be looking at is Nobuyoshi Araki . This website starts with a painted photographic image of the artist as a welcome. If you click on the image you enter the site.
On the homepage There is information on the artists latest exhibition . The page has been designed with a deep burgundy background and on the left hand side there is all the information this is written in sans serif text and is quite small in the left hand corner there is a flower image that bleeds into the page and this is am elegant design. However all the works and pages are quite small and to the left hand side so there is a large right hand space that is just the deep burgundy colour. Araki's full name that looks like a painted signature is placed over the flower in the left hand corner and this is well designed and signifies that this is an artists website. The navigation bar is rather ugly and tiny and sits in a small black header that contains also an email address to contact the artist.. The homepage itself scrolls down through all the artists exhibitions with and images description, Araki has a ling history so the scrolling takes some time and ends with a few of his publications. It is a pity this is laid out this way as this could be so much better presented. At the bottom the page I found the copyright notice but this stated 2001-2006, so this site is rather out of date.
I then went to 'special features' the second item on the navigation bar - this was a series of links to videos or Araki's work however none of these links works as the player is no longer supported probably due to the age of the website. The layout is consistent in design, colour and typography to the homepage.
The biography was next and this again is a an extremely long scroll to the bottom as it start in 1940 however, helpfully, there are links to years at the side so it is easy to jump through this with these links. Unfortunately on all these pages there is no back to top button so it is quite annoying to return to home.
The contact page just open an email box and is not a page. Overall this website is clearly out of date and has issues. it is quite comprehensive in terms of recoding Araki's output through the years, however I am hoping he has a more up to date site available. This site came at the top of a google search so if there is a more up to date site it needs better meta tags and SEO.
Comparing the two sites, obviously Mikiko Hara's is more up to date however there were too many pages and on some of these they were not new work but from 2 years ago and as the artist I around 56 years old I would have expected there would be more output recently. Or it is better not to include these pages. The presentation of work was really good with lovely expansion of images on the screen, good information about the pictures and good features like viewing in a room and the inquire button. Araki's site did have lists of his work and images all the way through but not full collections and the user friendliness of his site left much to be desired, which is unfortunate when many of his works are so sensual and sumptuous. Araki is now 84 years old and i will be searching for a more up to date and joyful website to view his work. out the two clearly Hara's is preferable and much more user friendly and accessible for the audience to appreciate the work.
