Gawker’s Redesign: Thumbs Down
By Becky Lang
Did Gawker redesign their web page to look like a mobile app? I think it would fit a lot better on my iPad than on my laptop screen. Here are my observations, plus a few from our latest hire, Jason Siegel, who knows a lot more about web design than I.
1. Why would you want to go to a blog and have to press a button to switch to blog view?
2.Its boxy frame feels cramped on my screen, and the open space on the sides feels very web 1.0.
3. The new typography is alright, but the faux metallic buttons are weighty and out-of-style.
4. It seems created in part to make you look at one ad the whole time, and the feature story ad is extra prominent. I want the swoopy Cheetos ad that covered up their top story menu back!
5. There was something wonderfully comical about seeing many Gawker headlines on the same page. Along with their small snippets of text and funny celebrity photos, you could get a quick glance at how weird the world was on any given day. Now it’s just one cramped story.
6. Can Lifehacker please make a hack for getting the old layout back?