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Week 48: Automotive Blitz

This week I will be redesigning: Automotive Blitz.

In the space of 5 minutes I can identify some of the key strengths and weaknesses of this design, and sketch out a mockup.

STRENGTHS:

• There is plenty of relevant imagery, making it immediately obvious that this is a blog about cars.
• There is a bold, colorful palette for the site, which is used throughout, adding a nice touch of continuity (links/headings are also red like the background).
• The blog follows a fairly typical and convention layout, so is relatively easy to explore. There is also great continuity in the typography, with a consistent use of font.

WEAKNESSES:

• The site feels far too busy. The large bold images in the header really detract from the post content, and the hugely busy sidebar feels confusing and overwhelming.
• The content and typography may be consistent across the site, but it feels a little small, and there isn’t a huge amount of visual hierarchy going on.
• By displaying full blog posts on the homepage, not only is the page overly long, but the viewer is bombarded by too much text, and can lose interest.

My Redesign

As always, I was limited by the 30 minute time-frame, but I tried to improve upon several of Automotive Blitz’s features, adding a few design flourishes and a clearer layout that promoted content over wasted space:

MY AIMS FOR THE REDESIGN:

• I stripped away the clutter of the sidebar, and made the header less imposing/distracting.
• I used larger typography, making the content more legible and engaging.
• I only displayed post excerpts on the homepage, making the homepage content easier to scan.
• I tried to achieve a cleaner layout, with more white space.

Before/After:

Here is a quick comparison between the original design and my 30 minute redesign. Sure, my design could be more polished, but I believe that a lot of the basic elements have been improved upon, creating a more pleasant browsing experience.

How and Why To Enter Redesign Saturdays

You can have the chance to have your website redesigned in next weeks post. All you need to do is leave a comment to this post with your website address and why you think it needs a redesign.

About the Author:

Tom is the founder of PSDFAN. He loves writing tutorials, learning more about design and interacting with the community. On a more interesting note he can also play guitar hero drunk with his teeth.

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