[redesign] Newbury Comics

So here is my first venture into the world of unrequested criticism and redesign of websites I would use more if they looked better and had better usability. I am going to explain what I don’t like about the site, and what I do like about the site, and then show you an updated version that I have Photoshopped up to show what it could look like.

I’m not going to spend more than 4-5 hours designing it, so of course there will be issues with my design, and incomplete ideas, but what I’m hoping to get out of this is a way for me to become better at getting ideas across, and to improve my own interface design skills. I can only get better if I hear from you all, so please, comment and tell me what you like about the new design, and what you don’t like about it. So, without further ado, I present to you, NewburyComics.com!

Current Design

Issues with site

• Too busy
• Inconsistent navigation
• Too many options
• Many items link to same generic page
  • These can be consolidated
• Sale ad sticks out, but as an eyesore

Good elements on site

• Header is not busy
• Simple list of items in header and footer
• Search is immediately available on homepage
• According to left nav, there is a large quantity of content available

Updated Design

Improvements

• Cut down on clutter
• Put only new and Newbury Comics specific merchandise links on the homepage
• Changed “Music” to “CDs” to make area names more consistent
• Moved “Gift Cards” to header with other navigation - not really the same kind of merchandise
• Made separation of sections on homepage more obvious

Other ideas not shown

• Make “New Releases” sections rotate
  • Show 4 albums at a time, for a total of 12 or 16 albums
  • Show same with DVDs

Unanswered/Unclear

• Should top nav be dropdowns?
  • CDs, DVDs, Posters & More
• How can the sale item be made to be more prominent but still fit well with the overall style?
• How can we better encourage the customer to sign up for the newsletter?