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Information Architect's 2006 Facebook redesigns
- mortenjorck 17y agoI could see it working well. Overall, there's a good sense of balance and flow, but my main concern would be the transition between the each-post detail mode and the single-post detail mode of the right column. The arrows and shading don't quite seem to express the change in linking readily enough; I'd suggest a more pronounced visual differentiation between the two.
- m0th87 17y agoBrilliant design, but it doesn't seem like it would degrade very gracefully for lower resolutions.
- donohoe 17y agoThe second and third columns provide a lot of collapsible space depending on the browser width, no?
- m0th87 17y agoYes, but either the comments wouldn't be visible in low-resolution clients or facebook would have to provide a completely different layout (e.g. with inline comments) for them.
- jfornear 17y agoI don't like it. The new Facebook design centers around the search bar for a reason. I'm sure Facebook designers tracked user behavior and gathered that the search bar should be more in focus. This redesign botches this concept completely. Information design !> usability design. Also, the distance you have to move your eyes left to right to read this is a readability issue. Basically, you have to work way too hard to read this and do what you want to do. That's my 2c.
- donohoe 17y agoIts not for everyone, but bearing in mind this was created in 2006 it shows a very progressive thought - especially when you think on how Facebook looked back then. I disagree that "move(ing) your eyes left to right to read this is a readability issue"... well, the basic action of reading (for most languages such as English) is to do exactly that.
- jfornear 17y agoIt's the horizontal distance that is the problem. This redesign takes the information from the Newsfeed and spreads it across the entire page. If you want to read comments you have to travel horizontally and then go back to read the next item in the feed. That is a pretty big readability nuisance. But yeah, this is from 2006. I like the branding on the left sidebar. I just happen to not be a fan of the layout mostly.
- donohoe 17y agoAh, yes - now that you've clarified it, that makes more sense
- boucher 17y agoThe search issue is almost definitely a non issue, and an oversight on the part of iA. Just moving it to the top placement in the left hand column would give it almost the same placement it has on the real Facebook today.
- eagleal 17y agoYes it is! As the parent comment said, the new design it's search focused with solid reasons behind it. Most people I know do basically 2 things on Facebook: 1. Search friends, or suggested names constantly. And the new layout focuses exactly on this. 2. Chat. (During chat: "do you know X Y?" -> 1, "saw person X with Z G" -> (if don't know) -> 1) Disclosure: I usually don't use Facebook (just to connect with old friends, sometimes).
- duck 17y agoOutlook has basically proved this interface works well and I think it could be applied to other conversation types like Facebook. As in Outlook, making this an option would be cool.