MSM Sites I

Paul Scrivens / 03.26.08 / one response / Design / Inspiration

BusinessWeek

BusinessWeek does an excellent job of tackling the information overload issues, but creating an aesethetic that is clean and maintains the focus on the content. While sites of this caliber with this much content try to give all its content equal importance there is an obvious hierarchy on the site that guides the reader throughout.

Although the page is a bit long and I’m sure much of the information will go unread by any reader, with a company of this size you have to figure that some department was clamoring to fit everything possible onto the site. Thankfully for us, the designer was capable of doing so in a way that didn’t make us want to immediately leave.

CNN

CNN follows the path of BusinessWeek with its clean aesthetic and clear sense of hierarchy. What impresses me about this design is how well the advertisements are integrated into the grid so as not to detract too much from the content.

It also follows BusinessWeek in the sense that they wish to pack as much information possible on a page without realizing that much of it will go unnoticed by the casual observer.

Scientific American

What I love about Scientic American is that they cater to a very small niche of people and yet have created a design that would appeal to any demographic. The design really draws me in and makes me at the very least explore the site to see what is contained within.

The focus on a main story is important and shows that there is a hierarchy that the site follows and a very clear grid structure makes it easy to explore.

Grand Sierra Magazine

If the previous sites suffered from information overload then Grand Sierra Magazine suffers from information underload. A great design lacking the content to really draw in the user. I was greeted with beauty only to be left wondering what else there was to the site. What you can take away from this design is that a minimal amount of content can go a long way, but too minimal and you are left with nothing.

ZDNet

One of the more impressive redesigns I have seen from a large site recently. It uses bold colors with a strong grid to maintain a professional feel yet establish a brand. I love the headlines and although I think they would do well in reducing the amount shown they do a good job of making a clean separation between the recent important content and the rest. The center column extends a bit too long for my liking, but with so much great content they probably feel the need to give it all a shot at exposure.

One Response

Mike Rundle / 04.03.08

ZDNet redesign is very strong and has a lot of beautiful depth to it, something you don’t see on big company sites.