Proposal Details
What I Want To Do:
-Change heading/logo that runs throughout the pages by simplifying the content and the tabs that run across the top
-Change the organization and layout of the information by creating a more consistent organizing principle
-Create consistent secondary pages for when the user navigates away from the homepage to a specific category
-Simplify the information that is on the main page by putting the bulk of it on the secondary pages
-Add color to the site
The challenge that I found with this design project was how to condense the information within the site without losing it while making the site a little more aesthetically pleasing. The original site is extremely excessive, ugly and disorganized. I also thought the site could use a bit of color as well. Overall, I tried to create an organizing principle with the three pages I've designed that would carry over throughout the site. Currently, each category's separage pages are laid out completely differently.
With my proposed homepage, I simplified the heading, including the logo and tabs across the top. I categorized the information in a way that only shows the top three stories in each section and then gives a link to click onto the next page that would display all of the information for a category (ie. U.S. News, Sports, Politics, etc.). I feel like the current page contains too much information and the user gets bogged down by it.
The second page I created for Sports is meant to serve as a template for most of the secondary pages when the user navigates away from the homepage. The exception would be pages with videos, which I created a third page for. With the secondary pages, the information would be laid out the same for the most part. The 'Live Scores' box could be replaced with a Special Features section or just be deleted altogether.
The third page that I created for Videos is meant to be a template for the current Videos, Fox News Shows, and Blogs (which are mostly videos) pages. I feel that the way the page is currently laid out is too random and needed to be better organized.
Overall, my proposal is more user friendly because the site is better organized. The messiness of the original can turn users away because it can be difficult to navigate for first time visitors. The site has a better appearance, albeit still a bit conservative.
The Current Fox News Website
Sports Page:
Videos Page:
I find this site unappealing and just bad in so many way. For starters, the heading of the homepage bothered me because the logo is so inconspicuous, it's left aligned and there is just so much other needless information. The tabs were excessive so I simplified them to just one row.
Another element that I found bothersome was the inconsistency with the layout of the secondary pages. I created a secondary page that is intended, for the most part, to be the main template for each category (ie. Sports, Business, Entertainment, Health). The randomness was irritating because everytime you navigate away from the homepage you feel as if you're clicking on an entirely different website.
And I think that a touch of color goes a long way in terms of the appearance. Sure, the site can't be too splashy because it's a news site but one or two colors really give it a whole new appearance. I used colored boxes as a basic organizing principle.
Initial Prototypes
