BBC Website - Aggregation Concept
The BBC website holds a vast amount of information. For the average visitor, at least 60% is irrelevant for them. For me, this often creates a situation where I can't see the wood for the trees. However, each visitor will be looking for different data.
This proposition firstly suggests a modular homepage which is constructed by the visitor. This aggregates the latest relevant information they are looking for. It also provides them with links to extended information, archived entries, etc.
Each module can also be fairly functional - it need not contain just textual information. A module could be used as an animated news ticker (with pictures), a radio player, a graphical TV guide (demonstrated in the design) - there are many other possibilities. This example allows the user to easily catch up with any podcasts they have subscribed to, or video clips for any TV programmes they watch. Links to their active threads in the forums would cause a lot more visitors to use the Discussion feature of the site.
The other benefit of this design is that coloured elements can be changed according to different sections of the site (e.g. red for BBC News) - without the site losing its identity.
However, the modular aspect should only be applied to the homepage and other pages that aggregate large amounts of data (e.g. the news homepage).
The design must make the best possible use of a visitor's screen real estate - regardless of the resolution of their viewing portal. Long lines of text should, of course, be avoided.
I believe that once the information on the BBC website is made more accessible, the site will become much more useful for many people. I think that relevant links to articles on Wikipedia would also benefit many visitors to the site.
- 24 May 2006 17:19
gallery