Navigation Worth 1,000 Words
That's a nice idea that greentea design had. The preview icons show what furniture style is behind each navigation item.
Comments
I have to agree with Will on that. When you think about it, that right side next to the nav is reserved for only one small image at a time. They could easily fill that whole space with additional text or images if they wished. Therefore you could make the argument that its actually a waste of valuable space.
However, if this concept were applied to a thumbnail image itself and we could see MORE thumbnails or views of the product when moused over, I think they'd have something.
From a less picky standpoint, I do like the fact that what they have done is unique and different. The fact that we are talking about it is a testament to the positive effect creative design can have on an ordinarily dull site.
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Visitors
I actually think the example given does not really illustrate the full potential of the idea. Everyone knows what a tv unit or book case is. The real "usefulness" of the nav is when you get a level deeper, such as on this page. Then you can see the difference between different tables.
On a counter point, I really prefer what most furniture sites do, which is display thumbnails of everything so you can look at it all at once, without having to mouse over one item. I guess I don't really like the example site at all. In fact, I think their execution of the idea leaves alot to be desired in terms of design.
Just my 2 cents.