NYTimes.com Redesign Launches

This is without question better in every way than the previous NYTimes.com design. Much less crowded than before; ads, for example, are much better integrated into the pages. (The main reason it feels less crowded is that it now uses a 1024-pixel-wide layout.) The type is much improved — the body copy and most headlines are now set in Georgia, and the line-heights seem more comfortable.

I have a bunch of quibbles. Some of the type seems too small, especially the longer list of headlines in the middle of the home page. And as I’ve always felt about NYTimes.com, I’m not sure how anyone is expected to be able to take in the entirety of the home page — there’s just way too much there. (Compare and contrast to the front page of the print edition of The Times.)

But those are quibbles. What matters is that overall, it’s big, big improvement to the design of my favorite web site.

★ Monday, 3 April 2006