Lounging at the Sierra Hotel

Every once in a while you see a website that really re-thinks the internet format. I recently picked up a Practical Web Design magazine that listed 2008’s outstanding sites some of which I had chanced upon during the course of my work. The ones that make their mark are the ones that take the path less traveled online. Yesterday I chanced upon yet another site (due to an attractive banner on some page that I can’t quite remember) http://www.airforce.com/sierrahotel/ which I thought was a worth mention here.


A site that created by the US Air force, it adopts an interesting storytelling approach to talk about the achievements of Air Force personnel who have gone beyond the call of duty. The site makes use of attractive comic book like visuals and a audio narrative to get the message across. The site also pulls the user in by integrating a number of mini-games within the design. Another thing unique is the linearity of the site. Websites are usually non-linear to a certain extent, allowing visitors to hop to another section at the click of a button. This site on the other hand progresses through a story in a linear fashion once a person clicks on a particular section and carries it out with panache.

I am still going through the site, but what I’ve seen is impressive indeed! Which makes me believe that the site will successively manage to entice people in learning more about the American Air Force and maybe even decide to enlist, which is the goal of the site.