Not too long ago, Electrolux commissioned a website to promote their Infinity brand refrigerators to consumers in Brazil. Before you dive into the link to the website (below), take a second to think about the refrigerator you have. If you don’t love your refrigerator (I don’t love mine), think about the fridge you’d like to have.

What did you think about first? Be honest. Was it sleek? Stainless steel, black, or some other beautiful color that matched the rest of your kitchen? Did it have all the right options and all the right drawers to fit your hectic lifestyle?

We buy things for a lot of reasons, but most of these reasons boil down to one main driver: improve life. We humans surround ourselves with things that define us and alter the way we experience the world. Like the rest of the animal kingdom, though, and no matter how much we may believe we are creatures of logic, the core of us is driven by emotion.

Here’s the experience Electrolux wants you to associate with their product:




I will warn you ahead of time, this Brazilian website, as you may have expected, is written entirely in Portguese. Fortunately, for us non-Portuguese speakers, the site makes a great example of how powerful reaching an audience on an emotional level can be. Visit the site at: http://www.electrolux.com.br/infinity/

Sound and Music
As the site completes loading, music sets the stage enhancing the experience and setting the user in the atmosphere of a dinner party. Note how the music and sound changes as you navigate through the dinner party (try the menu to the left, the first three options translate roughly to Appetizers, Entrees, and Desserts).

Sound is an important part of any experiential website because we create memories and not just with our eyes, but with all of our senses. Electrolux uses sound and music to enhance a pleasant emotional experience associated with the brand.

Photography and Animation
Despite its impact on the experience, the sounds may have gone somewhat unnoticed by you due to well-directed and vivid photography. Looking at the “Entrees” section (Pratos Principais), the subtlety of animation in the steam rising from the meat dish, the dancing candle flames, or the gently shifting liquids all work together with the photography to paint the picture of a real event. I could almost walk up to the table and help myself to a plate.

Interactivity
Throughout each scene of the evening, small diamond calls-to-action float, asking me to dig a bit deeper into the scene. When I do click, I’m presented with another juxtaposition; this time, it is the detail of one of the party dishes along side features of the fridge. As a user, I can now opt to explore to my liking, either allowing myself to be enticed by the sharply presented dishes, or, I can choose to explore how Electrolux makes this elegant evening simple.

In the real world, experiences we have are not just sights and sounds, but they are shaped also by our own interaction with them. The ability to engage and be fully involved with the party is severely limited by the technology (for now), but sometimes it just takes a little bit of interactivity to create enough of a dialogue between the user and the website.

Looking back over the three components that bring the site together, we see pieces of a real experience: sound, sight, and interaction. They beg the question: would taste, touch, and smell enhance this website further?

I hope you enjoy the site and I’d encourage you to explore it fully even if you aren’t in the market for a refrigerator.