Home automation in 2000 was in no way a portrait of simplicity, it was barely a thing. James was one of the first players in the field and made it their mission to fix that and bridge the knowledge gap for consumers while balancing availability and affordability. Still, there was an inevitable degree of complexity, so it was important for their site to convey a sense of intuitiveness and simplicity. Big solid color and simple shapes, all networked together with some judicious linework/wiring created the right impression.
Fun side note: That blurry train image you see in the first pic below… that was a live cam. You could even remotely stop and start the train from their site. Crazy stuff for back in 2000!!!
