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Jessica’s Story
Site created on June 13, 2018
This is my story, morning glory In our online travels, we’ve identified several tools and principles that should live in every designers’ utility belt. They can be used to attack the challenge of creating a content-rich site:
White space – allowing the content (and your visitors’ eyes) room to breathe Boxes, borders & graphical planes – Segmenting the information into visual categories An intuitive search method – Letting your users jump straight to the info they need Grids – Although not always necessary for comprehension, keeping content within a rigid, consistent structure helps reduce the effort required to process it Strong information hierarchy – Establishing a consistent design language using content types (blurbs, excerpts, call to actions) Visual hierarchy – The relative importance of different content areas and elements can be visually implied in many ways, ranging from typographic treatments (headlines, sub-headings, pull-quotes, etc.), to image sizes and saturation, placement, etc. In the examples of content-rich websites that follow, you’ll see many of these best practices applied effectively in order to maintain an enjoyable, friction-free experience.
POLYGON
What is it?
Polygon is a videogame review site from the founders of gadget-enthusiast upstart The Verge (also profiled here).
Why we like it
Whitespace – Polygon’s articles feature long-scrolling, untraditional layouts that break up the dense bodies of text into digestible chunks with huge, beautiful imagery, akin to custom-designed magazine spreads. Here, the content in each article has been intentionally laid out, instead of simply “pasted & posted” into a one-size-fits-all template. Strong information hierarchy – Dramatic-looking pullquotes highlight the core points of the reviews. Usable search – There’s an impressive realtime search bar that’s sticky at the top of the browser window, enabling quick drilldown on specific games. THE VERGE
What is it? As the new kid on the block that’s populated by the likes of Gizmodo and Engadget, The Verge is taking a fresh, bold approach to covering the wide world of technology.
Why we like it
Story collage – The homepage begins with a big, colorful jigsaw puzzle of leading stories’ headlines, providing a glimpse into the articles they link to, as well as a strong visual draw for the eye. Thumbnail sliders – At certain points, the pages are broken up by a useful carousel of image thumbnails, each allowing the user to drill into a specific story. You Need To Read This Now – By giving its top stories a bit of whitespace and accompanying them with an explicit directive, The Verge is able to focus attention on the hottest news it has to offer. What is it? As the new kid on the block that’s populated by the likes of Gizmodo and Engadget, The Verge is taking a fresh, bold approach to covering the wide world of technology.
Why we like it
Story collage – The homepage begins with a big, colorful jigsaw puzzle of leading stories’ headlines, providing a glimpse into the articles they link to, as well as a strong visual Jjggpages are broken up by a useful carousel of image thumbnails, each allowing the user to drill into a specific story. You Need To Read This Now – By giving its top stories a bit of whitespace and accompanying them with an explicit directive, The Verge is able to focus attention on the hottest news it has to offer. What is it? As the new kid on the block that’s populated by the likes of Gizmodo and Engadget, The Verge is taking a fresh, bold approach to covering the wide world of technology.
Why we like it
Story collage – The homepage begins with a big, colorful jigsaw puzzle of leading stories’ headlines, providing a glimpse into the articles they link to, as well as a strong visual draw for the eye. Thumbnail sliders – At certain points, the pages are broken up by a useful carousel of image thumbnails, each allowing the user to drill into a specific story. You Need To Read This Now – By giving its top stories a bit of whitespace and accompanying them with an explicit directive, The Verge is able to focus attention on the hottest news it has to offer. What is it? As the new kid on the block that’s populated by the likes of Gizmodo and Engadget, The Verge is taking a fresh, bold approach to covering the wide world of technology.
Why we like it
Story collage – The homepage begins with a big, colorful jigsaw puzzle of leading stories’ headlines, providing a glimpse into the articles they link to, as well as a strong visual draw for the eye. Thumbnail sliders – At certain points, the pages are broken up by a useful carousel of image thumbnails, each allowing the user to drill into a specific story. You Need To Read This Now – By giving its top stories a bit of whitespace and accompanying them with an explicit directive, The Verge is able to focus attention on the hottest news it has to offer.
