TechCrunch redesigns: over undesigned?

TechCrunch redesigns: over undesigned?

TechCrunch rolled out a redesign of its site today.

Lots and lots of white space, super minimalist. Now, I get wanting to strip down design to get a really clean look, and Mark Hendrickson notes that the idea was to move toward a less bloated looking and faster loading site.

I get all of that. I’m not a huge design nut myself â€“ my focus is predominantly on content, particularly when I’m reading a blog, and overwhelmingly when I’m reading a tech blog.

Still, I can’t help being a little critical here. TechCrunch proudly sits on top of the tech blog heap, so it can handle a little criticism from the likes of me!

Soâ€¦ there’s way too much white space going on here. The minimal line divisions on the page are “web 2.0″-looking to the hilt (which kind of hit its peak sometime in early to mid-2007, I’d say), minimal to the point of barely being visible. The result is much less bloat, but particularly above the fold the site looks downright stark and antiseptic.

If I’m rocking the site on my blackberry, that’s perfect. But on the web, can we get just a little bit of color and design going, maybe? Even on a tech blog, I’m sure we all can handle it.

Post Metadata

Date

August 28th, 2008

Author

Eric Berlin

Category

OMC

Tags

design, techcrunch

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michael arrington

So I actually think minimalist is just starting to come around again. So many blogs that I read have so much going on, which is both distracting and results in huge page loads. We're moving away from that. I keep looking at my iPhone with a single button and thinking "I want the website equivalent of that."

Eric Berlin

I think the "too much going on" thing often has to do with too many ads (wrote a story a few months ago about how Mashable is overloaded with ad-clutter) or unnecessary widgets.

The aesthetics of design are of course endlessly subjective and this is simply one online media cultist's opinion. About a return to minimalism: I have noticed some tech blogs trending this way, come to think about it. I find Mathew Ingram's site to be quite a bit more stark/minimalist than it used to be for instance.

Anyway, the design of blogs is in some ways like naming websites/products. It doesn't matter but it does matter but...

Matt Shaulis

there's no such thing as too much whitespace... ;)

sTm

With all this activity it looks like the social networking sites are looking to consolidate. Makes sense, based on current economic situation. The trend to consolidate will be good for the industry by getting rid of the cookie cutter site. Too many options out there. As for te clean look. It makes the site more appealing for a takeover. At TechBranch, I like to review my Web Design annually.

sean

I heard these guys are looking to design a social networking site. If anyone is looking to partnering with them in setting one up please contact TechBranch< /a> of Tampa, they are a full service Computer Network Repair, Web Design, Optimization, SEO. We specialize in small businesses like yours and help to promote your ideas and products.

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