Teroforma – The table as a visual shopping cart

I do a lot of work every week trying to see how to make very linear and transactional sites engaging and creative. In general when it comes to online shopping you ever see anything new or different outside of maybe Nike who is willing to push the envelope from time to time. Today I cam across the tableware company Teroforma and their new web site that is doing something very interesting by creating a simple and elegant Flash based shopping interface. The main site is well designed but light on content so you have to click through to the web store to find the interesting content. You start by choose from type, material or finish. The items that correspond with your selection appear in a long scrolling row and you can click to pull out the items of interest that will move and organize themselves on a long wooden table. Clicking the item pulls up basic info like size and price but clicking the ‘more info’ button reveals a map showing the location of all the designers involved in making the piece. You can then about info pictures and stories about them which is simple but a nice and humanizing touch to a retail process. When you have the combination you are satisfied with the site can generate a URL that you can email or IM to your significant other so they can see everything already laid out on the table for them. Overall it is a well executed design and a great example that less can be more.