The Underscore Archives

>On Wed, 7 Nov 2001, Andrew Littledale wrote:
>
> > what do you guys think of the new BBC stuff?

Why'd they feel a need to change it? Freshen it up, sure, but this is a bit 
extreme.

Downloads faster, but does that help if it makes links to the primary areas 
less intuitive, and adds steps for reaching other areas? This is the kind 
of thing that happens when the graphics designers get full say over layout, 
rather than people with experience in information architecture/useability.

Used to be "News" was right there on top of the side navigation- no hunting 
around for it. Now it's one of those links in the middle- you'd think it 
would be somewhere noticable. It's not even in that horribly bland topnav.

Local news was a drop-down list in the lower right corner. Now there's a 
map where you pick from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. At the next 
page (longer download than the old homepage), you get a list of cities in 
the area you chose. Adding additional steps to get to news seems an odd 
choice for the BBC!


As to the name change, BBC is an internationally known and respected brand. 
Renaming the online portion to something trendy isn't a wise move, imnsho.

Christine


__________________________________
Christine Tlougan
kat at asheris.net
phone: (952) 847-9270