leoburnett.ca

Commercial portfolio sites for design companies are a well-established category by now. The sites get slicker, better scripted, converted to proper CSS etc, but essentially it’s the same content in the same wrapping. Only rarely does a real surprise come along.

Advertising companies in particular tend not to take web design very seriously. You see, the awards available for new media advertising are much less prestigious than their film and print counterparts. A delightful exception, then, is the little wonder that is Leo Burnett Canada.

Under the title “Big Ideas come out of Big Pencils” it presents a playful interface, implemented completely in Flash. The user moves a big black pencil around the page, scribbling as it goes. Through interaction and exploration a multitude of details come to light, like the little apples strewn across the page. Clicking on an apple brings up “Leo quotes” with nicely animated typography. An excellent sense of space is created through the use of extreme zooms in and out, resulting in a feeling that is simple, typographic and minimalist, yet simultaneously fun and compelling. Users will most certainly staying longer on this page than they would on your average agency web site.

And that’s more praise than I’ve given any advertising agency in a long time.