[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?

Changing my perspective

Cris told me the other day that he noticed a kind of “Intellectual Explosion” in me over the last few weeks. I’ve begun to read some interesting books, and I’ve begun to get a few different ideas of what I’d like to do with my life in the next couple years.

I’ve had thoughts of starting my own small business, being in a “high-touch” customer service kind of position, and even thoughts of how I might be able to make changes at the current company where I work.

I don’t know if any of these would succeed, but that matters less than the road they can lead me down. I’m less afraid of not succeeding than of not making the trip to potential success.

You’ll be seeing the fruits of my labors soon on this blog. I’m going to be posting some interesting views over the next week. Keep an eye out!

Books I’ve been reading

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink

Small Is the New Big: and 183 Other Riffs, Rants, and Remarkable Business Ideas by Seth Godin

What are you going to do with your writing?

• Is it important?
• Is it groundbreaking?
• Is is it a phenomenal piece of commentary?

Does it need to be any of these things?

Seth Godin asks if what are you going to do with all of the things you write now that all of your real barriers are gone? Publishing? That’s what a blog is for — it’s free. Boss? In the world outside of your office, you are your only boss. Editor? You’d better plan on getting good at checking over your own work, unless you want people writing text updates in comments.

Sure, if you’re going to write a book about, say CSS, you’re going to need a publisher. But by that time you’re probably already a name, have a blog with a good subscription list, or have published before.

I’ve been struggling with the question of what this blog really should be about, what the main content stream should be. I still have not figured it out, but I feel a little closer to the answer each time I write. I think the point is that you should make sure that whatever you decide to write, you can’t blame a lack of posting or content on anyone but yourself. The only excuse at that point is lazyness.

Fallibility of groups

Cris over at Live by the Chip just asked an interesting question:

Which is more user-centric: an interface designed from the ground up with user accessibility as its core construct? Or an interface that doesn't drive you immediately insane, yet makes its way to market 12 months sooner?

My gut feeling is to go with the former. I feel that the user should have the purest experience possible with a website or any other product. However, there are some obvious issues with this.

First, and most obvious, the interface designer (ID) is never going to be the only person making the decisions regarding the interface. There will always be interference and miscommunication about how things should be built.

Second, I don't believe that a pure site is entirely up to that same ID. The best site is going to be built with input from many different people. That input feeds into the best UX design possible.

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I understand Cris' concerns about another hit to the work that IA/UX/ID people do, but at the same time, we only have so much ability to affect a given project. What we've developed during this project is still many times better and more powerful than what our clients have had to use for the last 3 years. I think that even if he and I were able to control everything we feel we should have, we would be coming up with other ways to better the system. Knowing us, we'd never be completely happy with what we've got.

I'm sure that one of these days, either working together or separate, we'll both be able to be in control of a project, and we'll build it exactly the way we want.

And then someone will tell us it's wrong.

YAY!

Finally, the big crazy project is about over! We've got the entire weekend off, which is good, based on the amount we all drank in celebration last night.

Now is the time for us to do a ton of little bug fixes, style fixes, and the like. Hopefully we'll have some time to regroup and plan out the rest of the work required to finish off the entire site.

On the flip side, I'm really starting to get some great designs coming to life for Cris' blog and mine. I can't wait to have something that looks fantastic.

Ok, I'm still freaking exhausted, so that's all I've got for right now. Later!