A proper news site is mostly about function; people want information, not artwork. But appearances play a major role in a site’s appeal and accessibility, and an interesting approach to an MSNBC redesign aims to take all these things into account.
An initial overhaul was quite thorough – Ashley Wells, MSNBC.com’s creative director, spent around 650 words describing a process that involved minute tweaks, editors, and focus groups. As for the result, well . . . it may not be to everyone’s taste. On the site’s homepage, I was unhappy to find myself scrolling down the length of six full screens to get from top to bottom. And I generally agree with Todd Zeigler’s assessment of four other problems.
Still, the potentially neat thing about the redesign is its ever-changing nature. “msnbc.com is able to creatively shift layouts and rich media surrounding news content as it happens,” said the company in a statement. “Unlike limited templates used by most news sites, msnbc.com’s new platform enables its editors and designers to create new layouts at break-neck speed to surround its compelling stories with a range of high quality video, photography, slide shows, graphics, audio and more.”
Also, people associated with the site appear quite open to suggestions – Wells, along with Editor in Chief Jennifer Sizemore, invited comments following their posts about the redesign.
None of this is enough to draw me away from the BBC. Still, it’s nice to see the hard work and innovation that went into MSNBC.com, and the redesign is sure to earn it some new followers.
