A website that I find to be designed in a creative and interactive style, while using Flash in an effective manner is Waterlife: http://waterlife.nfb.ca/. This site uses XHTML 1.0 and relies heavily on Flash and Javascript, while also using CSS. The style sheet for CSS is located at css/global.css. The purpose of this website is to present the public with information about the Great Lakes, primarily focusing on the pollution of the lake and ecosystems that are slowly or rapidly being lost. The website itself is also based off of a film of the same name of the Website. However, this website, unlike the film, provides users with an interactive way to approach the information. It also gives them the ability to focus in on specific topics that they are interested in, providing them with links to outside information.
This site was created not only to bring awareness to the Great Lakes and the problems they face today, but also to help people understand how they can help. By presenting the information in a simple way they avoided overloading the site visitors with information. Also, by creating it in such an interactive way they are able to present the information in a way that will capture people’s attention.
For the design of the website they choose a water theme, which is appropriate considering the information that the website presents. By placing the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen they caused the main focus of the website to be the information that is being presented. Also, through the use of Flash they are able to make this a website that flows and moves. Also presenting the theme of water within that movement. The addition of the music helps to pull the user in turning this website into a multisensory experience.