Link: http://www.pitchfork.com

Pitchfork.com is known as 'The King of Indie Music Blog Websites' bc it emerged as an early entrant 2 the blog scene, using a high-level editorial brand 2 convince ppl to 'take it seriously' as a music recommendation service. Like most websites on the internet, it must adapt to meet the users of contemporary-wave/modern internet users. It seems to have launched an ALL NEW redesign that attempts to make it more competitive in the current internet landscape. Do u think it is a 'design success' or a 'massive design failure'?

Here is the official statement on the redesign:

The new edition features larger, clearer images, improved organization and usability, and a more readable typeface. Pitchfork.tv has been reworked, making artists and series easier to find, and its archive of music videos has been moved to the still-expanding Music Videos section. Our new Tracks section merges Forkcast and The Playlist to highlight the best and most notable new tracks as they become available. Video game culture magazine Kill Screen has been given its own dedicated section, and experimental music blog Altered Zones now has a presence on our homepage.

Twitter is A-BUZZ with this SHOCKING NEW DEVELOPMENT, and reviews are MIXED. Needless to say, some users are NOT giving the site a 10.0, nor are they giving the site 'Best New Layout Status.'

I reached out to a well-known internet HTML designer, and he issued to following analysis on the redesign:

It's by no means a compelling or game-changing redesign It's super bland, really. In many ways, the indie thoughtleaders made their site look like just about any other site on the internet. The most notable element is the blank space on the side of the page, which will surely morph into a coveted skin-based ad solution. While Gawker used their redesign to push forward the internet's ad solution model, Pitchfork's redesign symbolized confidence in their advertising sales team AND probably just meant they needed to clean up their code-base, specifically on the TV side.

To get nit-picky, the redesign features an inordinate amount of clutter. It bastardizes the finer assets of a number of better sites. The footer approach lifted from at least 30 popular websites. The partners section is also doomed. It is highly redundant to have Tracks and Best New Tracks across from each other. The new design just made their typically poor typography even bigger--their confused brand identity illustrated by excessive number of fonts. 24 pt Georgia body text? You've gotta be kidding me. The prevalence of their social media presences is necessary for most blogs, but the implementation is incredibly middle-brow. The site is a colorless, slow-loading Frankenstein. No finesse by their design team. Cool treatment on hoverstates, though.

Did Pitchfork 'nail it' on their layout?
WIll they ENGAGE new users?
Have they already 'won' indie? Can they takeover more genres?
Have they 'gone Huff Po'?
Do they look unique + well-branded, or 'just like any other crappy blog on the internet?
Will they see a decrease or increase in pageviews based on their layout?
Will they see a decrease or increase in uniques based on their layout?
Do u think they will make more $$$ based on the layout?
Will they decrease server load with the new layout?
Did they hurt or help indie by redesigning?

Do u go 2 design school/internet college majoring in HTML? What is ur analysis on the new layout?

Do u miss the old layout?

Do u miss the older layout?

Do u miss the older older layout/kewl favicon?

Do u miss the lil text layout?

Should they revert 2 the original layout 2 refocus on Authentic Music Journalism? (Schreiber, 2000, pp. 1-3)

What is the best alt blog design of all time?
How would u rate the new layout?

Pitchfork Media

Company, Blog

Pitchfork is a popular indie blogzine that does reviews and gets mad hits.

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Ryan Schreiber

Alternative Entrepreneur, Alternative Celebrity, DJ

Ryan Schreiber is the creator of Pitchfork Media. He is one of TIME MAGAZINE's most important people in the world ever.

Lists: indie hunks, Pitchfork writers, bloggers

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