The Scroll Wheel: Not just for scrolling anymore

I’m starting to see more and more sites using the scroll wheel to enhance the user experience by offering more than just scrolling. For example, Suit Supply, an online merchant for men’s suits, uses the same scroll wheel feature as Google Maps: Zoom In and Out. A great feature when you want to get a closer look at the suit material and details.

Toshiba built a gorgeous site to let users browse elements of the site with the scroll wheel. The site is all about creating an emotional connection with products consumers may not necessarily understand. It dimensionalizes them in a way that connects interaction with a very unexpected outcome.

I would like to create an archive of sites that use the scroll wheel for more than just scrolling. If you happen to see any, please post them here.

Cheers.

Scion’s Little Deviants

OK. Scion makes cars. Cool, affordable cars for tuner kids I guess. What this site has to do with that I have no idea. But it’s quite awesome. Take a little bit of Get the Glass, add some Scion Attitude and you’ve got some nasty little deviants.

Kill the Little Bastards

Get your news Arkanoid-style

MSNBC has created a very amusing way for news mongers to gather headlines. As you play the game, headlines drop a la Arkanoid mode. When you’re done, you can boast about your high score OR you can read the headlines you just gathered. Sweet.

Get your news

Perhaps the BEST example of information architecture ever?

Nike Air Force 1 has created a wiki-like property where users contribute content for every AF1 ever created. Or have they? That’s where the wiki part comes in.

Start Drooling

Let the Game Continue

Another fine online installment from AXE. Poor guy flips his truck, watches it explode and gets distracted from women who want to help. Can’t a guy get a break?

Let the Fun continue here.

The Thrill of Pure Design – Audi TT

A really nice example of using emotion to sell a car. The Michelangelo-like interface reveals different parts of the human anatomy and links it to the new Audi TT. While nothing new and groundbreaking, the microsite is refreshing.

ELAVE

Something like this can only be done thanks to the internet. I mean, what broadcaster would allow for something like this? Forget about the complaints, the committee lynch mobs, the public outcry… just imagine how a 4-year old would react. One friend said it’s campaigns like this that will make the networks realize that they better lighten up.

More and more marketers are realizing that they can take their TV production budget, make a “commercial” and “air it” for as long as they want.

I take my, um, hat off to ELAVE for having the, um, courage to do a campaign like this. God bless the internet.

ELAVE – Nothing to Hide

La Casa del Horror

Created by Amnesty International Puerto Rico. They use a simple yet very emotional approach, asking you to navigate the site in the dark, using your keyboard to discover the dramatic stories of a lot of people all around the world, stories and tragedies which take place far from the crowds. Leo, can you help a brother out and translate?

See the site

eBay for chores and odd jobs

From mowing the lawn or picking up dry cleaning to researching a cruise or planning a party, busy people can pay willing takers on DoMyStuff.com. Unlike posting a classified ad on Craigslist with a fixed price, DoMyStuff.com has an eBay style ratings and auction pricing model.

Trident Video Experience

The new Trident site in the UK reminds me of my Joost experience: video chapters, a simple, proximity-based interface and loads of extra content to better understand what Trident is about. A very good online experience, which lacks a little bit of interactivity but surely is sticky enough to expose people for at least five minutes to the Trident brand.