Respected entrepreneur Jason Fried once wrote that the notoriously hideous Drudge Report is actually well-designed. He was right, and he still is. The design accomplishes exactly what it intends to, delivering the site's irresistible headlines with lightning speed (and serving ads along the way).
Drudge features a dead-simple layout:
Content is presented flatly, with no tolerance for navigation or instructions. Photos or red text indicate bigger stories. It's straightforward and incredibly usable. See news, click news. And with Drudge's devilish sense of controversy, it's tough not to.
Designing for the web is like cooking. Presentation has a role, but the taste of the dish is far more important. Aesthetic garnishes are valuable because they communicate the quality or professionalism of the chef, not because they make the food any better. Expensive restaurants emanate opulence through ambiance and presentation; many sites must do the same in order to accomplish their goals. Some sites may even desire a rough look, in order to communicate authenticity or save time and money. Most are somewhere in the middle.
Beauty is merely one component of design, like usability, speed, cost, and time. Design is not decoration, it's a concerted effort to solve a particular problem. Some sites don't need to be fast. Some don't need to be cheap. Others, like Drudge, don't need to be pretty.
It's easy for creative professionals to fall into the beauty trap. Clients' design feedback is usually delivered in aesthetic terms: "This is so beautiful" is far more frequent than "This is so usable." Designers unwittingly play to that misunderstanding, delivering gorgeous but ineffective work that ultimately fails.
The design of the Drudge Report effectively solves a specific problem: How can we generate a vast and loyal readership, and serve them ads? It's not a perfect solution, but it's good enough. On track for 20 billion pageviews in 2011, Mr. Drudge is surely happy enough with the results of his design. Craigslist is happy with theirs, too. So is Amazon.
Sure, they're ugly. But so what? Sometimes, ugly isn't worth fixing.
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It is a classic case of form following function.
; o }
Stay classy unions.
For instance, here is a Drudge headline: 'OBAMACARE GOES TO COURT...'
Which links to an LA Times article entitled: 'Judges sharply challenge healthcare law'
What really annoys me though is that it will often work against what I consider American progress for the sake of appealing to its taskmasters (whoever they may be)
I understand that (other than FORD) the government bailed out the Auto industry. But progress has been made and automakers are re-hiring workers. But TDR keeps referring to these automakers as "Government Motors."
Here's an example: 'Cash for Clunkers 2: The Return of Government Motors!' http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2011/mar/29/cash-clunkers-2-dumped-capitol-hill/
This seems subversive to me, TDR indirectly attacks the American worker when it suits them especially when it will mollify and influence their readers. Just when we need to create jobs and re-establish some manufacturing -- HERE-- in the United States, TDR shoots it down, implying what? Socialism? Plus, there is no place to comment on TDR in regard to its choices. That makes it impossible to push back against the tilted headlines. TDR is nothing more than a water boy for its right wing puppet masters.
i think hp is a big winner almost exclusively for its design -- its content has gone by the wayside, unless 28 stories about Anthony Weiner's crotch is what you enjoy with your morning coffee. in the 21st century the revolution still won't be televised.
Design: Drudge
Sorry... but H-P's design is busier than Scott Walker's & David Koch's private phone line. A slimmer design would increase speed, reduce the load on H-P servers, and would increase advertisement hits. I would say 95% of the banners and bars I just completely ignore because there are so many of them.
Please - HP is less about delivering the truth, and more about delivering a return to investors :)