Some reflections on Finn.no new homepage and icons
Posted on | August 28, 2009 |
Finn.no has released a new homepage, a big change in Finn’s otherwise “stealth” redesign process. As I like to follow what happens on Finn.no, I am offering some reflections on this new Homepage design.
Firstly, let’s look at the core element of the new Homepage: the category “tree (borrowing the screenshot from Espen)”:
I had two immediate reactions. Firstly, clutter. There is a lot of movement in the icons, in an less-than-orderly way, without anyone element having particular prominence. Even the “sett inn annonse” bit, placed squarely in the middle and with intended prominence, is a little lost.
Espen commented wisely on the principles of icon design, and even offered an alternative to test the difference:
And in fact Espen’s test reduces dramatically the clutter and the movement in the GUI, with great benefits for readability, both the visual and textual type. And, if I may say so, with great benefits for (my) peace of mind.
The second reactions I have often when using Finn.no: there is no usable principles of order in the listing of categories. It is not alphabetical, which is usually the safest bet. There may be some internal principles (will to drive traffic to this or that channel, by revenue, etc.), but as a user I am not very interested in internal principles, I want to find my entry point quickly.
Of course Finn.no has a large user base which is loyal, which is to say, users return often, so they have a good chance to learn. this principle, learning, should lead UI designers to take advantage of it by designing UIs which are very efficient after a learning period. Finn.no however seems to use some questionable criteria for ordering elements, such as number of properties in the real property channel, which does not provide any fix structure: as the number of properties change, the list is re-shuffled accordingly. As a Finn.no user I am often confused (and irritated) by it.
I wouldn’t expect the homepage to be re-shuffled that often however. What I am trying to say is that, short of clearly privileging anyone channel, the safest bet is to order alphabetically, as this ordering choice is understood across the board, without drawbacks compared to current choice (for users).
I also think that the “sett inn annonse” element could be placed elsewhere than in between the content categories, and still benefit from its size and visibility.
Icons on deeper pages
On deeper pages, particularly channels main pages such as real property, the presentation is slightly different, with some advantages and some drawbacks. The first advantage is the presentation of the text: larger font size, black color. Much easier to scan and read than the softer blue and smaller size on homepage. However, the icons become less useful as the difference between them tends to be a question of nuances. to still refer to the real property example, the same icon is used for all residential property, and then the same icon for all holiday housing categories. The differentiation is left to secondary visual elements, which tend to require processing and prevent quick scanning of the information space. So I’d say that icons get in the way, rather than being beneficial.
I shall now ponder whether to mock an alternative design which incorporate my reflections.
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