The Art of the Redesign Letter
WashingtonPost.com's recent redesign prompted the obligatory "Letter from the Editor" explaining the rationale behind the design changes. These letters always accompany a redesign and, while cheerful and gung-ho on the surface, they all share the same core attributes:- We redesigned for you. We love you. We want you to love us.
- We still have navigation, but it's now in a bar or at the top or hidden in 2-point arial in our footer. Please use it. We spent $40,000 on a "navigation expert" and we need to justify the expense.
- We added pictures! And video! And ... text!
- There's a new thing on the Web. It's called a "blog." We're not entirely sure what they are or what they do, but dammit, we've got 'em!
- The highest standards of usability were incorporated into the design. Not this design, mind you, but a design. Let us know when you find it.
- We welcome your comments ... if they're nice. If you're going to be nasty or accuse us of "chasing the latest fad" or "doing what everyone else does" or "killing/moving/hiding your favorite section" then we'd prefer you shut your yap.
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