By Jessica N. Bowles-Martinez
Metropolis magazine prides itself on its simple, clear, static design.
But it chokes on this pride when it tries to translate its magazine
into a web site. The page ignores the fact that it is online, and
a different medium, and becomes trapped. The designers seem lost to
the fact that the internet has the potential to foster a living, evolving,
site and suck away its life by using design schemes that only work
in the more permanent magazine format.
The idea that the Metropolis is a design and culture magazine is
not apparent on the site. In fact, nothing about the site is made
clear or explained and requires that the reader is already familiar
with the magazine itself for the site to make sense. The culture aspect
that the magazine claims to support is only apparent in the articles
that are online that touch, some more in depth than others, on the
topic. The site would be able to support its claim to culture by creating
a user community. This could be done by the use of opinion polls,
forums to post responses to articles and respond to other people's
comments, and a simple way to email articles to other people. These
features are already available on sites like MSNBC, so, I imagine
the technology to implement them would be readily available as a package.
The site seems like it is intended not so much an online version
of the site, but more as an advertisement for the magazine and some
of the furniture featured in it. I do not know if the articles available
online are in the magazine itself but there is a current issue section
that has links that don't work because you can only get them in the
print edition. This would explain the lack of content and effort in
the page and why it appears to be an attempt at a one to one match
up of the magazine rather than a new product in itself.
The layout of the page, despite the magazine's claim at being skilled
experts at design, has many design flaws that take away from the credibility
of its content. Overall the site does not have a consistent interface
through all the pages nor does it have a common navigation system.
There is too much wasted space when they should have fit the homepage
on a single page so you don't have to scroll.
The design of the opening page has a cluttered feel and is hard to
take seriously when the orange navigation bar looks like a piece of
candy. Also, the desk advertisement is so big it automatically gives
the feeling that the site is just focused on selling a products rather
than providing content.
The site provides nothing more, and even less, than the actual magazine.
It wastes an opportunity to use a non-static medium to reinforce the
design and culture that it claims to support. Instead, it perpetuates
the isolation between the readers and the limitations of a static
medium of printed-paper. The magazine feels like it is meant to appeal
to educated, urban dwelling, twenty-something, image-conscious, artsy
yuppie types who are used to going online while drinking an expensive
latte. While the magazine may have what it takes with its large pages
and interesting uses of space, the web site is a boring corporate
scheme. They will not fool the demographic they cater too, because
most of them have been online for a while and have high expectations
of an online site, and wont be engaged by this fumbling attempt at
bringing the magazine online.