Simplicity News Website

The vision: a clear and easy to read news web site with emphasis on content over branding which is easy to navigate and is aesthetically eye-catching whilst remaining relatively neutral in order to avoid colour clashes with article images.

The websites architecture mirrors a real world method of classification which can be observed in most academic books. For example, the homepage resembles an introduction or contents section and each category page (e.g news, celebrity etc.) resembles the summary typically found at the beginning of each chapter. This ‘real-world’ method of classification should provide users who have never visited the site before with a certain degree of familiarity and a good idea of how to browse the website.

The web site’s navigation consists firstly of a global menu which is present on every page of the site. This menu not only provides the user with the ability to browse to the different sections of the website but also serves as a frame of reference by telling the user which category page he/she is currently browsing by means of ‘active highlighting’* which is described by wordpress.org as “the dot on the map that says ‘you are here’ ”.
Secondly, on the homepage and each category page, there are brief summaries of articles with links at both the beginning and the end of each summary to ensure the user knows he/she can read on by clicking either the title link or the read more link. The homepage contains a selection of ‘featured’ articles whilst the category pages contain each article assigned to that category.

The final navigation element consists of a link at the bottom of each article page which shows which category the article is categorized in and allows a user to click back to that category. This increases the chance that once the user has finished reading the article he/she will click back to the category from which it came and go on to read another increasing the amount of time the user has spent on the site itself.

In-line with the vision described above the colour scheme of the website is intended to be as neutral as possible in order to keep clashes with article images to a minimum whilst still complimenting the style and aesthetic value of the site with an emphasis on neutrality and clarity. Each link on the website is highlighted when rolled over with the mouse to emphasise the fact there is a link that the user can follow. Furthermore, the background – a crisp winter sky with light could coverage – is intended to further emphasise the concepts of a neutrality and clarity as well as give a seasonal touch.
The logo is, like the background, intended communicate clarity, neutrality, and seasonal imagery. The final font chosen for the logo was Arial Standard for several reasons:

Firstly due to the fact that Arial is very familiar with most users as it has been around for a long time and is considered to be one of the ‘mainstream’ fonts featuring in many print and digital media projects. Secondly, Arial is a very crisp looking font. It has bold curves and excellent proportions commutating the idea of importance.

The logo is intended to look icy cold to re-enforce its seasonal value. This ‘ice cube’ look serves to keep focus on the content of the site – i.e. the articles and images – rather than on the branding. Keeping in-line with the original vision described at the beginning of this rationale.

In conclusion, the visual elements present in this website emphasise the content whilst remaining neutral to insure colour clashes with the article images are minimised. The layout and structure serve to make it as easy and as pleasant as possible for the users of the website to navigate.