"The Age" Review - Online Newspaper

Funny, that "the Age" recently re-designed their website, but it somehow looks dated. Yes, there is a newspaper-like feel about it, but a newspaper-like format doesn't necessarily work for the screen. Then again, I do have issues with the physical version of the newspaper too. The format was never to easy to read. The pages are very large and hard to turn.

However, you will never have those sort of problems with online version. Firstly, I would have preferred a cleaner looking grid for the layout because the nature of the newspaper is that is contains a wealth of information and a good grid design, I think, is essential for organizing large amounts of information in a neat and economical way.

I dislike how the main headlines are centrally aligned. The type seems too small for the information that is considered of primary importance. I would have preferred the headlines to be bigger and placed in a column along the left hand side, instead there is a large image there that, I feel overpowers the headlines. The other thing I do not like is how underneath that image there is a set of image thumbnails set in a row. They look nice, but you would normally find them somewhere near the footer, however, in this case, the thumbnails are placed at about one third into the page. Psychologically, if you happen to just see the top part of the site, the placement of the thumbnails may prevent the user from scrolling down to see the rest of the page. As for the rest of the site, you will find all the conventional features of a newspaper website such as: the weather, the search bar, the navigation bar, various banners with links to articles (both local and external). Frankly, the amount of information on the page is a bit overwhelming. I also think think the visual design is very boring.

I believe 'the Age' is already overdue for a re-design.

Film Promotional Website: The Social Network

Now here is an interesting website promoting the new movie "The Social Network".

The movie is about the creator and the creation of "facebook", the ever-popular internet social network.

The index page shows us the poster art and the site features layout is similar in style to some of the facebook applications. Before entering the site we are given the option of selecting our country and look for movie session times. Also there is a link to a trailer and the movie blog powered by Tumblr.

When we click on the 'enter site' button, were in for a treat, we are navigated to a very slick mosaic-like interface where you rollover on various images, and panels slide out from under them that contain film-related information. Most images function as a menu item/category.

There is also a more traditional navigation bar offered to users at the top of the page.

Aesthetically, the design is very pleasing to the eye. The images are mostly images of different people, which stylistically conveys the 'the social network' theme. This is very appropriate, as the movie is as much about the power of networking as it is about the social network site that is 'facebook'. The thumbnail images are initially dimmed and then are highlighted when you roll over them with the mouse. A very elegant effect, which is quite popular on the web these days.

Overall, the site is very user friendly and aesthetically pleasing. I find the design to be simple, uncluttered, elegant, and unconventional. Normally, promotional sites risk having to much content and have very messy site structures because of it. To find this fine example was very refreshing.

Online Store: Amazon

Many people choose to buy on Amazon.com (including myself). And what's not to like? The website has a very useful interface, which contains many useful features to enhance a customer's shopping experience.

On entering the site however, I can't help but notice that the layout is a little too busy. There are a lot of images and several menus, and it will take a good few minutes to figure out where to go next.

The search bar, however, is very prominently placed in the header, and as long as there is a search bar, it will hopefully navigate you to the link with the info that you wish to search.

Also on the page is a 'cart' button where a customer can purchase and check-out and a 'wishlist' button where a customer can compose a list of items they wish to obtain someday.

On the left hand side, there is a list menu with different departments in which you can shop. A similar list can be found as a drop-down option pick menu next to the search bar. The rest of the page is filled with images of various products currently on sale, but because amazon.com is the American branch of the store, items other than books, CDs and DVDs cannot be shipped to Australia, which is disappointing. And there is not Australian branch, despite Amazon having other branches around the world like the United Kingdom and Japan.

Ok back to the layout, despite the slightly clunky interface, the site architecture is rather straightforward. You search in the 'search bar' it then takes you to a list of items with the relevant search result and from it the user picks the desired product.

The product outline. Is a very useful page, as it offers the customer lots of information about the product. The first way we can judge the product is by its user rating based on a 5-star key.

There are the product details such as the ISBN of the book, the editorial review as well as Amazon's suggestions of better value deals and related product recommendations. A feature on the page that I find very useful is the list of customer reviews. Reading several of those helps me formulate an opinion on what the product may be like in real life. On some product outlines, there is an option to flick through some sample pages of a book. Sometimes the customers even post youtube videos of them showing the different pages inside the book.

Overall I am very impressed with the functionality of the online store. Having shopped there before, I have to say that their service is very good too. I do wish there was an Amazon.com.au so that it be possible to purchase more types of items.