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Week 52: Mobile Smug
This week I will be redesigning: Mobile Smug.
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 navigation is fairly clear and easy to use
- The site manages to cover a lot of information
- The color scheme is cohesive and clean, and everything ties together reasonably well
WEAKNESSES:
- The site feels quite squashed, it needs more white space and padding.
- The layout doesn’t seem to warrant 3 columns, as each side column has a lot of empty space beneath the content. Two columns seems more appropriate, and would waste less space.
- One of the largest issues for me is that you must scroll quite a lot to see the homepage content. News is prominent, but sections such as ‘articles’ are pushed right down the page, and given hardly any exposure.
- Whilst there isn’t that much hugely wrong with the site, it does feel a little boring, and nothing in the design really stands out.
My Redesign
As always, I was limited by the 30 minute time-frame, but I tried to improve upon several of Mobile Smug’s features, adding a few design flourishes and a clearer layout that promoted content over wasted space:
MY AIMS FOR THE REDESIGN:
- I added more white/space and padding, making the site feel like squashed.
- I reduced the layout to two columns, making sure there was less wasted space, and better organized content.
- I made content easy to scan/access with less scrolling.
- I integrated an interactive content slider, to liven up the layout and help engage viewers.
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.
8 Comments:
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Thanks Tom!
I really like the new redesign, specially the position of elements and also the fact that you made it simple and easier to read. Thanks again for the work performed! I’m waiting an email with the .psd file and I’ll come back to you with a comment when the site is refreshed with the new theme.
Thanks a lot George! I’ll email the .psd over to you asap.
To be honest I did really struggle with the time frame on this design, as there was quite a lot of content to work with. I would have loved to have more time to work on the colors and content organization, but I’m glad that you liked my work so far
.
Nice work Tom! I really like what you’ve done with the site.
I’d love to have a website we did earlier redesigned
Http://women.alriyadh.gov.sa
Sorry Tagy, we can only accept English language websites.
I love the above redesign! It’s look is much more inviting and appears to be much easier to navigate. We are working on getting our site more user friendly and faster loading, so anything you can share would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for this opportunity!
Thanks for the suggestion, I’m looking over this redesign today.
PLEASE pick this site! It’s mine now and it’s horrifying. I don’t even know where to START and I’m too busy updating six months of info that I can’t even think of redesign yet but I AM DESPERATE. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PICK ME!
thanks,
@wordsRimportant