Today we launched the first of our channels sporting a fresh new look which we hope will appeal to users across the UK. Starting in Games, we intend to roll out the new design across the rest of the channels over the coming months – yes, you’ve guessed it, it’s going to be a very busy time here at MSN HQ.
I always find it an exciting time when a company opts for an online facelift – it’s an opportunity to really think about what you’re doing in order to nail the ‘basics’. Like most busy websites that I’ve worked on in the past, you eventually hit content overload, with individual departments scrambling over any spare real estate in order to broadcast their messages AS LOUDLY AS THEY CAN. It’s the law of diminishing returns – eventually, the User slips down the priority chain as the website becomes swamped with all these messages at the expense of clear navigation and editorial direction. However, at MSN I think we’ve always been good at keeping the user central to anything we do and we hope the new ‘Wide Page’ layout will continue to keep them really engaged.
I’ll ping you as we begin to roll out the new channels – but right now, I’d love to hear your first impressions. What do you think?
