For a few years now we have been seeing a trend for large background images in web design, and it's a trend that we like ourselves. After all, isn't a picture worth a thousand words?
When used with a professional photography and the right sector, large imagery really adds a punch to a website. It's a trend we're seeing more and more, especially in e-commerce, as large imagery really help to show off the details of your products, or the message of your brand.
But what do you do if you want to say more than a photograph? You turn to video.
Videos in websites are not new, but I have started to notice a few 'full page' videos, in place of large background images. These are either single play videos, or minimal videos on a loop to add movement. They are also, more often than not, silent videos. (We all know how we feel about websites that auto play music… http://bringvictory.com)
I came across this site recently: http://www.powerhouse-company.com and I think it looks amazing. It really gets across a great deal in a relatively short time.
This site 'auto-plays' the video, rather than waiting for the user to click to play the video. And I love how the website navigation and logo are overlaid on top of the video. It feels really fresh.
Further in the site there is great use of both large images and even more large video combined with minimal text. Even though the actual website design is extremely minimal, the use of large images and videos really makes each page feel very different.
What do you think about background videos? Or about this site in particular?