BBC homepage redesign
In what I think is a good example for large institution web teams, the BBC has gone and offered an update to their home page. It is very Web two point oh with some widgets and gradients, big images, and larger text so its easier to read in this web world of increasingly high resolutions. They have some cool design elements like a classic looking clock, customization, and all the other bits you would expect on a site… except advertisements. The rationale for the design is offered in a blog post.
Issues to note about the BBC in my mind are:
- It is publicly funded and the public can take an ownership view on its web presence
- They have a large team but an even larger web presence
- Their primary audience is hugely diverse and crosses generations, from pre-teens to WWII vets
What I like:
- Their blog post explains what they thinking with regards to the big changes and invites conversation
- They point out there will be continuous changes (the web is not a static medium)
- It is a big change on look not content so they try to undersell it a little as a ‘lick of paint’ not a ‘redo’
Love it or hate it, its a pretty cool public process given all things.