Go Flash or Skip

At first glance the Bellecour website appears to be one that's promoting "green environment" or even one that sells eco-friendly ideas, plans, buildings rather than that of an art school. The commercial flash websites that I have come across are usually the one that has loud/soft music and this site surprised me with the absence of audio. The whole website is done in flash.
The website has made use of 3D elements; it has used nice spring colors that are effective and functional.

For the sake of convenience and lack of French language knowledge I have named the three pages in this website as GREEN, BLUE and ORANGE.

The three different Schools Of Art are distinguished by three colors green, orange and blue.
In the GREEN page the color is a compositional and unifying element, variety is created in placing the color elements with futuristic looking, and dome shaped buildings and metallic shiny car.

The proximity of the human elements near the passing cars, the landscape in the background with the buildings, the park-like setting and the dome shaped building, the big bowls of plant, the green rainbow are nice work of imagination and eye-catching compulsive work of art.

There is limited interactivity with the website at the click of a mouse the car moves there is a call-out window indicating a conversation between the man and the lady in this page The VOTRE IDEE sign board linear look creates hierarchy and is facing the dome shapes.

The BLUE color scheme with a green meadow forms the backdrop, the placement of the green meadow with the tiny looking human elements again in a park like setting creates visual hierarchy. The pink and white flowers, plants in the foreground, the low-flying blimps suspended in the air create variety. The green meadow is juxtaposed with blue billboard looking screen/big screen and the man position at the top creates visual interest and scale. The white fence creates line and visual interest.

The robot/alien looking character seen in the background creates movement, visual tension the same way the passing cars did in the GREEN page. The 3-D Robot arouses curiosity in me and I click on the next page.

ORANGE page or the Esta 3D Bellecour webpage shows the 3-D robot in the foreground beside the orange blob of paint. The movement of the robot/alien is realistic a vector illustration springs first same as the GREEN page with the architecture line drawings this becomes a full-blown 3-D element as it approaches the foreground. The 3-d robot/alien and the other younger robot are placed with the short grass growth that creates visual hierarchy, variety and visual interest – this page is dominated by the presence of the two robots and their wild actions.

There is a repetition of the elements such as the sign board this time in orange color, the trees, the grass and this repetition creates visual interest
The casual-looking human elements engaged in animated conversation appearing detached from the robotic elements and the parked car, the cityscape in the background creates an illusion of community and appears to be a student oriented environment. The learning environment is depicted as fun, open, casual and collaborative which is what it is supposed to be.

All the WebPages allow reader input on a cell phone's interface and they clearly target the students (audience) who are invited to open exploration of art, architecture and multimedia.

The logos in three different colors to distinguish the three pages in different colors with the B symbolizing the first letter of the name of the college Bellecour, the functional tabs that are consistent in color and brand imaging builds trust with the audience.

True to what Jakob Nielsen has said Flash 99% bad the website has small font, limited interactivity and flash typical poor intuitive qualities. Despite these drawbacks website however is able to convey its message clearly, consistently and effectively to the NetGen learning styles of its intended audience. I may not be a NetGen learner but that does not stop me from visiting interactive, Flash-spurned online games sites such as Orisinal. This website has beautiful feminine colors, interactive games with cool names , cute characters... Enjoy !