Reading Response 4

The Pinepoint interactive website was unlike anything I’d seen before. The level of detail to each slide was mesmerizing. All of the individual details worked to further enrich the story. I can’t think how long it must have taken to do all of the animations of the individual text bits. The overall aesthetic throughout the project fits perfectly between each portion of the story. It’s also fascinating to see the different ways a medium can be used to convey information. Most would see a website as a way to document information. To think how plain of a way this story would typically be told on a website vs. how it was done. Typically, this story would have been told most likely in the form of an article. In the case of this website, it is structured with chapters to the story telling the individual chapters of the town’s history, highlights, and culture. 

            The interactive elements also add a lot to the overall interest in the story. The story told in another form wouldn’t have gathered the same level of interest in article form. Having the drag and drop elements of badges brought you into the story. Also, the sound design and score further introduced you into the environment and allowed for a deeper understanding of the nostalgia associated with the town and reminiscing back on it. 

            The overall feeling, I got through the interactive website was as if I was sitting on a couch listening to a friend tell the story of their childhood and showing old keepsakes and scrapbooks to further enhance and visualize their story. It was very interesting and very well done.