Welcome to NYTimes.com, the best news website online. You know this. I know this and so do the Webby people, those who I believe are in charge of giving the Webby Awards. The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences hands these awards out to those it deems "excellent" on the Internet in the categories of websites, interactive advertising and online video and film. The New York Times website, along with the magazine Variety, Rolling Stone's animal rights piece "In the Belly of the Beast," The NSA Files and technology magazine Wired.com.
According to the Webby Awards website, news sites should meet the criteria of being "developed for the distribution of recent happenings. These may be offshoots of established broadcast or other existing news operations, or developed specifically for online news." I agree that the NYT site clearly shows the nation's recent happenings. It very much mimics the layout of the printed newspaper with story blocks and powerful visuals. The NYT site is smart because it goes with a news format readers are familiar with. I've already analyzed the NTY site, so you can go back and read my thoughts about it. I'll revert my attention to the other sites in the People's Choice category for last year's award winners.
Let's talk about Variety.com. Like most magazine layouts, it's got lovely, beautiful white space, large pictures and classy fonts. It doesn't try like a news organization to be in your face with links to maybe 12 different stories before you can scroll down. It's approachable. Still newsy entertainment with the latest headlines large and in charge at the top with photos that tell the story as well.
According to the Webby Awards website, news sites should meet the criteria of being "developed for the distribution of recent happenings. These may be offshoots of established broadcast or other existing news operations, or developed specifically for online news." I agree that the NYT site clearly shows the nation's recent happenings. It very much mimics the layout of the printed newspaper with story blocks and powerful visuals. The NYT site is smart because it goes with a news format readers are familiar with. I've already analyzed the NTY site, so you can go back and read my thoughts about it. I'll revert my attention to the other sites in the People's Choice category for last year's award winners.
Let's talk about Variety.com. Like most magazine layouts, it's got lovely, beautiful white space, large pictures and classy fonts. It doesn't try like a news organization to be in your face with links to maybe 12 different stories before you can scroll down. It's approachable. Still newsy entertainment with the latest headlines large and in charge at the top with photos that tell the story as well.
The layout is so simple, yet effective. The title and brand of the site is firmly established above the fold. A stylistic element I like is the content bar with "Film+" among other titles. The "+" sign adds a certain style that is a Variety original. The magazine focuses on entertainment news, and every element that could fall under that category is in the content bar. It's social media icons are high up, which is something that though this blog I have decided I prefer in website design. I think one of the most interesting aspects about this site is the "Most Recent News" divider at the bottom of the screenshot to the right. No matter what platform a visitor views this on, that person will want to scroll down and read more since its opening page is so welcoming and uncluttered. |
From an editorial perspective, I hate seeing the two ads for the same TV show on the page. I see this and in my head, I scream, "I get it! You're advertisng you Jinx. Stop bombarding me. However, I realize that ads are the way my profession survives currently, so I'm happy to see Variety's success.
Next, let's explore Rolling Stone. With each of these designs, I get more excited about the endless possibilities of methods to display news on the web.
This is a layout for Paul Solotaroff's story about animal cruelty. The the design is as shocking as what the story reveals, and I love it. The design clearly dictates the message of the story.
Next, let's explore Rolling Stone. With each of these designs, I get more excited about the endless possibilities of methods to display news on the web.
This is a layout for Paul Solotaroff's story about animal cruelty. The the design is as shocking as what the story reveals, and I love it. The design clearly dictates the message of the story.
Few story layouts go to extremes to adapt the layout to the message of the story, but this one definitely merits it. The deck, or short description of what the story is about, is incorporated into the design of the story, which is brilliant. It encourages readers to read on. As Janice Redish says in her book, "Letting Go of the Words," it deck, or content of the story, is so well written that all aspects considered, the story may not have needed this distinct layout. However, this gives a reader a bite of the story. The text together with the design is so powerful that readers don't have a choice but to scroll down and read on. I wish the budget and time existed to design every news story like this. While I have seen this story-specific layout exist in the New York Times stories on a regular basis, I think Rolling Stone decided to invest time in it not only for easy reading on a tablet but also for the shock factor in a computer screen. |
Reading on in the story, there's certain stopping points readers encounter that make getting through this investigative piece easier. A video powerful pull quote in the form of a blood splatter stops the reader and makes them think about what they have read. A video gives the reader a break. Stats in the same blood stain design divert the reader's attention to make them think about other aspects connected to the story. Readers have multiple exit points in the story, but as a reader, I didn't want to leave because the way it was told was so compelling. The content wins on this design!
Another Weebly People's Choice award winner is The Guardian's NSA Files series. Again, this isn't an individual website, but a series about Edward Snowden's leaks of the National Security Administration's files. The reporting is thorough, and I've only had the change to read through a few stories. The page is fabulously drawn out. Headlines that lead to a link to another story immediately catch my interest. It makes me want more information.
Another Weebly People's Choice award winner is The Guardian's NSA Files series. Again, this isn't an individual website, but a series about Edward Snowden's leaks of the National Security Administration's files. The reporting is thorough, and I've only had the change to read through a few stories. The page is fabulously drawn out. Headlines that lead to a link to another story immediately catch my interest. It makes me want more information.
Above is the homepage to the NSA Files package. I love that The Guardian made a logo for the series. It shows that this set of reports sets it apart from other coverage. Scrolling down the page, readers see the exclusive stories The Guardian covered relating to the file leaks. The each story is designed in a block to give it its own importance. Each story also has a photo that describes further what the story is about. Farther down the page is commentary of the scandal and documents that show how the story was reported—the "paper trail" as journalists say. Below that are the most popular stories in the series and the latest updates concerning Snowden and the government's actions dealing with the case.
Basically, it's everything you want to know about the case in one web page. It has headlines on the page that are compelling, newsy and give readers enough of an idea about the story to decide if they want to click on it and read more. I think the block format the Guardian used is smart and seems to be the news style most every news website uses. However, this site was very slow to load in my browser. It may be because I had multiple tabs open with the sites I am discussing in this post, but with so much custom-designed information and coding, I would think the site takes longer to load. With this information, I wonder if it has been a detractor for readers who can decide to either wait until it loads because they are that curious about the story if they leave frustrated. What price do websites pay to have it well-designed?
Basically, it's everything you want to know about the case in one web page. It has headlines on the page that are compelling, newsy and give readers enough of an idea about the story to decide if they want to click on it and read more. I think the block format the Guardian used is smart and seems to be the news style most every news website uses. However, this site was very slow to load in my browser. It may be because I had multiple tabs open with the sites I am discussing in this post, but with so much custom-designed information and coding, I would think the site takes longer to load. With this information, I wonder if it has been a detractor for readers who can decide to either wait until it loads because they are that curious about the story if they leave frustrated. What price do websites pay to have it well-designed?
Finally, the best design—in my opinion—for last. Wired is a technology magazine. As you can see from the content bar, the publication covers many fields in which technology is utilized and improving. Not only is the print magazine smartly designed, the website is simple, yet equally as engaging. Like Variety, it has a clear label and brand. I like that stories are above the content bar in order to give readers a taste of what content the website offer. Reader's know it is the weekend edition by the small bar after the website's title. It seems like Wired is trying to mimic a daily paper by offering a weekend edition, which isn't all bad. As I analyze these news sites, it seems like the ones that work are the ones that imitate print design principles. One being the more visuals a page has, the more engaging it is.
I also like the small design choices made on the page. For example, in the content bar, "video," "insider" and "subscribe" are highlighted in blue, which brings attention to them while still keeping the style of the site. Again, content dictates the site design as the most breaking headlines—well written might I add—are at the top. The stories below the strategically placed content bar are equally as entertaining content but definitely dictate the easy reading attitude many people want and have on the weekends.
All designs considered, I think there were three distinct things I saw in each: designs mimicked the blocks of newspaper, visuals were apparent with every story, and lastly, quality content dictated what was featured on the site.
I also like the small design choices made on the page. For example, in the content bar, "video," "insider" and "subscribe" are highlighted in blue, which brings attention to them while still keeping the style of the site. Again, content dictates the site design as the most breaking headlines—well written might I add—are at the top. The stories below the strategically placed content bar are equally as entertaining content but definitely dictate the easy reading attitude many people want and have on the weekends.
All designs considered, I think there were three distinct things I saw in each: designs mimicked the blocks of newspaper, visuals were apparent with every story, and lastly, quality content dictated what was featured on the site.