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Part 1: How Larry King is Defining the Universe

April 21st, 2010

By Matt Cook
Point.Click Media

There’s a common expression that’s used here at Point.Click Media and within the web industry when you want to find out about mainstream trends relating to web design or development. For example, if you want to find out what the current resolution trend is for the web or perhaps a new trend in advertising placements, the answer always comes back the same:

“Let’s see what CNN is doing.”

You see, other than being a conglomerate of right-wing Republican propagandists, CNN is usually one of the first, if not at the tip of the wave themselves, to popularize web trends and take the next step forward in terms of presenting content to its users. Whether it’s a simple design element or a complete overhaul of how content is displayed on the page, CNN is usually among the first to test the waters with a mainstream audience. By taking a look at the past forms of the CNN website, you can essentially track the evolution of the web:

cnn2000

In the Cro-Magnon days of the CNN website, we notice some things that really date this website right away. First, you’ll notice that the page is very busy and very messy. With web real estate being restricted to 800 x 600 monitor resolutions in 2000, there was a lot less space to be had 10 years ago. You’ll notice at the top of the page the oddly sized advertisements which tell us that a standard for web advertising sizes really hadn’t been established yet. Some other trends we notice are the long, endless menus down the left hand side of the page and the site as a whole, being a perfect icon of the era, is left aligned itself. However, we can see that CNN was a pioneer in on-demand video, being one of the first news outlets to offer video and audio clips which were revolutionary at the time, even though it was an overnight process to download. I’m pretty sure if you began downloading the presidential address in 2000, you’d be ready to watch it sometime around next Friday.

Check out the live working page by clicking here (Wayback Machine)

cnn2004

The first thing we notice 4 years later is that the interface has more graphic design elements. With the advancement of high speed technology, websites could now begin offering more than just text based web pages. Notice that Google is making its first appearance as a viable search option.  Notice also that the option for playing multimedia content is slightly more attractive, being attached to individual stories as well as having its own dedicated spot just below the main newslist and in the left hand menu. They’ve also begun cross promoting by advertising their TV Network and not simply being an online news service, pioneering the realization that the web shouldn’t be its own separate entity and really helping to push it to the forefront of mainstream media.

Check out the live working page by clicking here (Wayback Machine)

We already noticed some major changes in the way content is presented on the web, even in 4 short years. Next week we’ll really blow your mind  with the rapidly advancing changes that signal the end of prehistoric websites.

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Posted in Branding Reviews on April 21st, 2010

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