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30 Minute Redesign: Cinema Sharks

Week 57: Cinema Sharks

This week I will be redesigning: Cinema Sharks.

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:

  • The logo is really memorable and helps create a great brand for the blog.
  • The blog posts are prominent and close to the top of the site. It makes it really easy to browse the site’s key content.
  • The site uses a cohesive color-scheme and great visual hierarchy, using clear headings and post titles to draw the users eye down the page.

WEAKNESSES:

  • The site feels a little cramped and could use more white space.
  • A lot of the sidebar content seems unnecessary and distracting (for example repeating the latest news right next to the news itself)
  • There isn’t really that much relevant imagery to help tell you what the site is about.
  • The menu is slightly confusing, as the social networking links are given equal precedence to the main navigation.

My Redesign

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

MY AIMS FOR THE REDESIGN:

  • I reduced the amount of obsolete content and gave the content more white space.
  • I made the navigation much clearer, and moved the social networking options to the sidebar to differentiate them.
  • I added some more relevant imagery to help define the theme of the site.
  • I tried to use a generally cleaner more ‘to-the-point’ design.

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 30 Minute Redesigns

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.

The Benefits of Getting Your Site Redesigned Include:

  • Most obviously – a FREE redesign job!
  • Your website gets exposure to PSDFAN’s thousands of readers
  • You understand how to improve your website. This isn’t just a redesign, it’s a lesson in design principles.
  • You will get emailed the .psd of your redesign and can do whatever you want with it!

NOTE: I can only accept sites with English content, as foreign language websites are simply too hard for me to work with.

So please, leave a comment today for a chance to have your website redesigned next week!


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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9 Comments:

  1. Trisha Cupra says:

    Wow, really cool redesign. I love the icons.

    • Tom says:

      Thanks a lot Trisha! I actually wish I’d had more time with this redesign, as I feel I could have done a lot more. However, hopefully I cleared up some of the issues.

  2. Adam says:

    nice redesign. May i know where you got the icons? Thanks.

  3. Mr. Bruce says:

    Thank you so much! Just remembered I entered, and just found it then! Looks so great, cheers! Fixed a few issues in my mind, will work on it!

  4. Mr. Bruce says:

    Just wondering, have you ever thought of doing blogger templates? Because I don’t know about other guys, but I would pay a ton for something as awesome as this…! Just a thought (:

    • Tom says:

      Thanks a lot, I’m so glad you liked my design :) . I don’t have all that much experience with Blogger, but I have been considering doing a theme/template site for a while now. To be honest I could do quite a lot more than this design, but obviously I was held back by the time constraints. I’ve responded to your email btw :) .

  5. sanji says:

    Good job! Definitely like it better now.

  6. Stephanie says:

    A good redesign, like you mentioned there are a lot of strong elements already in the design so sometimes this can make it either easier or harder to redesign. Although there was a clear grid before I think this has been simplified even more and has made a vast improvement. You really do have to think about not only the visual aspects of the site but also the usability.

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