Discover Nikon's History! : Design Exploration

For a fun and very interactive experience... take some time to visit this well-designed website that was created to showcase the history of Nikon.
I chose the Discover Nikon's History website because of my love of photography and desire to someday own a Nikon Digital SLR camera.
The initial interface is most engaging as it tells the viewer that they can participate in 18 different "missions" to discover the history and world of Nikon. After a selected number of completed missions, the viewer is rewarded with downloadable wallpapers and screensavers. A great way to keep the viewer engaged and thinking about Nikon even when they are going about their daily duties on the computer!

From the moment I entered this award-winning website, it was clear that the designers had created a site that was meant to engage the viewer and allow them to be a participant in a fun learning experience while discovering the unique and in-depth history of Nikon. The main page is filled with sepia toned images and titles that when clicked on lead the viewer to start a mission and begin learning about that particular piece of Nikon's history. The background music on this page is very pleasant to listen to and has a cinematic quality to it. As if the viewer has just embarked on a journey and is in for an enjoyable quest. There is a "How To Play" section, however, I found that it was not really necessary as the navigation was intuitive and easy to understand. As you move around on the main page, a soft light guides you to the different missions and reminds you of the light from a camera.









The missions are comprised of either solving sliding or drag-and-drop puzzle pieces and fill-in-the-blank puzzles. The sliding puzzle piece missions are not my cup of tea, so
I was not able to solve those and see the resulting history information.
If I were designing this site, there would be an option where after the viewer had attempted to solve the sliding puzzle game, they could opt to still have access to the historical information. This is the only detriment I found in navigating and engaging in this website. When you try the fill-in-the-blank missions, you are able to click on a link that leads you to an article or paragraph that includes the answer. Once you finish a mission satisfactorily, you are transferred back to the main page and a "Mission Clear" stamp appears to let you know that you were successful.

By creating a game of completing missions where the viewer searches for answers or tries to solve puzzles, the designers made the history of Nikon which has the potential to be dry and even boring into a fun learning experience. The challenge of completing the puzzles competes with the desire to gain access to the information and makes for a uniquely interactive quest. The concept of the sliding and drag-and-drop puzzles is well thought out as the viewer is also tested on their knowledge of artificial intelligence techniques and facts outside of the history of Nikon. The sliding piece puzzles require the viewer to be knowledgeable of and adept at spatial reasoning. To solve "The Suburu Telescope" drag-and-drop puzzle game, the viewer needs to know which of these mountain ranges: Mauna Kea, Kilimanjaro, Mount Everest and Fuji, is tallest and rank them from highest to lowest.

Once you have started to solve a puzzle, your progress will be saved if you have to leave the website for any reason. This is a welcome feature as some of the puzzles are more challenging and most people would not want to start over upon returning to their last mission. I would encourage all of you to challenge yourself and try a few of these missions... it's a lot of fun! This Nikon website has taken many pages of Nikon history and given them new life with the most current programming technology and user interface design. I also appreciated the designer's unique border on the main page as it looks like you are in the middle of a history book. A nice touch in this age of digital media and lack of tactile objects to relate to and take hold of as many of us did in the now potentially waning age of printed publications.


I discovered this website on the "Stand Out Awards" website which was created with "the vision to provide recognition for outstanding websites and to serve as an inspiration to all of those who are looking for some of the best web design work from around the world. The best designers can showcase their work and receive the recognition they deserve." The "Discover Nikon's History!" website received its award on June 9th, 2009. The Stand Out Awards website, SOA, is ready to take this website to a new level. And they are preparing a flash site fully loaded with login information and profiles for their winners. Currently, they are taking suggestions and ideas from their fan base. This is a website that I will be revisiting in the interest of discovering more unique websites like the Nikon site. Enjoy!