You should try to abstract your rules for these redesigns and make them in to a best practices ruleset.
I like all three. Can I add you to my list of 'available'
webdesigners ?
The biggest problem with these big corporate websites I think is that they have no real incentive to think about the usability and general aesthetics of their websites.
After all, we're just lousy customers, if the package was sent through DHL we'll have to use their website.
If you want to fly KLM/North-West then you'll have to use their website, etc.
If they were just competing on the web they'd be paying much more attention to these details.
Another big problem is that usually there are 10 or 15 departments involved in getting a big corporate website built, especially if they interface to 'legacy' systems.
Looking at this through the lens of a startup-minded person is not 100% accurate. It is also a very good reason why running a start-up is much more fun than working for one of these big corporations.
Before you would even get internal permission to do these mock-ups you'd be 6 months down the line, and during those 6 months the requirements would change all the time.
The real problem is that big companies are structured into hierarchies, and getting a big change (like a site redesign) often requires simultaneously developing support through several branches of the company tree. At each level, management feels an obligation to make their opinions felt, and the result is endless compromise. For some things, this works well, but it is a very risk-averse process, so it is hard to make dramatic improvements. So big companies buy little companies (and often ruin them, but that's another discussion).
The problem isn't necessarily that big companies have incapable web designers, but rather that the influence of even the most capable is quite limited. It seems to be a fundamental problem with large organizations.
I once worked for a large company I shall not name, where ultimately the decision on which colour to make the menu on the website ended up being taken by the CEO.
I like all three. Can I add you to my list of 'available' webdesigners ?
The biggest problem with these big corporate websites I think is that they have no real incentive to think about the usability and general aesthetics of their websites.
After all, we're just lousy customers, if the package was sent through DHL we'll have to use their website.
If you want to fly KLM/North-West then you'll have to use their website, etc.
If they were just competing on the web they'd be paying much more attention to these details.
Another big problem is that usually there are 10 or 15 departments involved in getting a big corporate website built, especially if they interface to 'legacy' systems.
Looking at this through the lens of a startup-minded person is not 100% accurate. It is also a very good reason why running a start-up is much more fun than working for one of these big corporations.
Before you would even get internal permission to do these mock-ups you'd be 6 months down the line, and during those 6 months the requirements would change all the time.