420 Design Blog
MSNBC.com gets a welcomed facelift
14 Nov 2007 | Angie H
Ever since I first laid eyes on msnbc.com several years ago, I've avoided it like the plague. In fact, I've avoided (and continue to avoid) news sites like it. But with the new design that msnbc.com is sporting, that may very well change.
The problem (or challenge if you're a designer) with most news sites is that there's just so freakin' much that needs to be included on any given page (especially the home page), that it can quickly and very easily become a mess. Not to mention all those distracting ads. All that visual chaos drives me crazy. Granted, that's my opinion, but in the realm of large news sites, it still boils down to poor design.
Msnbc.com, however, has scored big points this week. The new look is clean (!) and incredibly well-organized. The entire site contains such graceful hierarchy you immediately know what's most important. Further, it doesn't take more than a second or two to figure out what's what. That, my friends, is usability at its best. And let's not forget flexibility: the site is easily accommodates changing events and breaking news. Today's front page, for example, shows breaking news above the top stories and just below the main banner in such a simple yet extremely effective manner: it does enough to catch your attention but doesn't disrupt the entire layout.
My favorite part of the site, which coincides with one of my favorite parts of design, is its whitespace. There's just enough of it to give plenty of breathing room and yet not make the page feel so spread out it's going to fall apart. The approximate 30-35 pixel spacing between the top stories and the secondary stories, ads and links actually makes me want to continue down the page. Strange, I know, but that's part of what whitespace does. What's more, the ads are obvious but subdued enough that I actually don't mind them. (It probably also helps that they're not rotating every 5 seconds.) The hierarchy continues down the page and shows what solid typography can do to help viewers/readers. That is, it's so easy to tell what's a header and/or new section you don't even think about it.
I certainly would be missing a big feature if I didn't mention anything about how you can personalize the site to work better for you, or rather, your interests. The ability to move the varying sections and change how many stories in each section are shown (none, 5, 10 or 15), is long overdue. Because quite frankly, I (sadly) watch enough E! that on that rare occasion that I do go to a news site, I don't really care what stupid thing Britney or Lindsey are up to. Further, while you may be more interested in seeing sports at the top, I might prefer seeing US, World and Politics there (unless it's a World Cup year). Oh, and a personal note to the creative director and designers: Thank you for leaving out the typical rotating news headline slideshow thing-a-ma-jig. Those things are just plain annoying.
Being a design geek, redesigns of major websites always spark my interest to some degree. But this time I think I'm actually excited about it. The design is so strong and incredibly well thought out that it becomes a pleasure to actually visit and spend some time on the site. That just goes to show that good design really does matter. And it matters regardless of industry or type of site.
Read more about msnbc.com's new look:
Designs we left behind
The new msnbc.com: Designs we left behind
Design (general), Web Design + Development