By Francisco Delatorre
HBO suffers from a common malady in web design: it's too busy. This
is odd; while most corporations suffer from this due to sheer volume
of content, HBO's main strength lies in each of its sub-parts, so
the amount of information on the main page doesn't warrant the amount
space it used. To its credit, it is organized in a relatively simple
manner, but it suffers from the delusion that it needs to convey significantly
more information than what they have, and fill up a standard sized
browser window with repetitive content.
At the very top of the page are the HBO logo, and an immediate banner
ad to subscribe to the service. Below this is a row listing of its
most popular shows, from Sex and the City to The Sopranos
to boxing. A mouseover on any of these titles reveals in the row beneath
the names a black and white image of the cast, and a sub-menu with
options such as schedule, chat, and bulletin board. Clicking on the
name itself takes you directly to the show home page, while any of
the sub-menu items takes you to a more specific area.
Below this, however, is where the design begins to break down. There
is a smaller row listing various options with such nondescript names
as HBO Zone (which apparently means the schedule), and HBO Magnet
(which turns out to be a children's web site, poorly designed in and
of itself and due for a critique some other time), as well as links
to HBO Documentaries, HBO Films (which, incidentally, takes you to
the homepage of a specific film, not an actual film section), and
the home page for Arliss, apparently not important enough to
warrant a spot on the top nav bar. Strangely, there seem to be a grand
total of three links to the schedule on this row alone, in "HBO
Zone", "Schedule", and "Today on HBO".
Below, in the left column, is a series of links that also takes you
to the home pages of various shows, albeit in poorly worded propaganda
instead of simply the names. In addition to these redundant links,
there is a section regarding a creative expressions contest that is
merely a link to www.volume.com, which doesn't mention a contest of
any sort. The center is devoted more to upcoming or special events,
and some even less important shows are listed here. The right column
attempts to break the norm by taking the practical, business end of
HBO and organizing it as such, although it contains a drop-menu that
also provides links to the show home pages included in the top bar,
second from the top, and bottom of the middle column.
Essentially, HBO.com runs into the problem of not enough content
for one page. They have a good idea with the top navigation bar, and
could fit the remaining shows that apparently don't make the cut (like
Arliss, Boycott, and Chris Rock) onto this bar
if they were only willing to break the absurd aspect ratio constraint.
The secondary navigation bar could then be devoted solely to different
areas of the site, such as the bulletin board registration page, screening
room, and schedule. This would simplify the design, focus the user's
attention on the site's strength (in this case the snappy navigation
bar at top), and eliminate redundant links (really, do I need 6 different
ways to the boxing area?).
On the other hand, many of the associated web sites are good; each
show's home page contains the requisite schedule and episode guide,
but each site is very different both in aesthetic composition and
depth and organization of background information. It seems that different
design teams were contracted for each home page, and given the stipulation
that it had to include certain capabilities (such as episode synopses),
but otherwise given freedom in what supplemental material to include
(such as Sex and the City's fashion show, which clearly won't
work for Oz). The schedule is also very well put together;
at the click of a button, I can see what will play at 3:30 pm on March
11 (it's Entropy, a romantic comedy, by the way), and program
a reminder into my own calendar.
Interesting to note is HBO's devotion to the shows' fan communities
here. Bulletin boards, FAQ pages, and chat rooms facilitate communication
not only between the viewers and the network for any reason, but also
between the viewers themselves. In each site can be found a wealth
of background information from plot lines to character bios to family
tree diagrams in order to bring the beginning viewer up to speed.
While HBO has a good starting point, it's always a shame when the
total is less than the sum of its parts.