Comments on: Preview: CNET's new, improved look

After more than a dozen years of bringing you our content surrounded by yellow and green, CNET is getting a makeover. Check out beta screenshots of the new look.

[Kennymac]

Eeewww.

Red?

Can CNET choose a MORE aggressive color?

Red?

Sheesh. I thought we were past such undergrad use of color.

[amigosito]

I do like the embedded video player, though. Why not just focus on the IA and UX? The visual identity was brilliant before. This new design blows, big time. Why would you think it's a good idea to use a serif font for on-screen reading? Why would you think it's a good idea to ditch the distinctive yellow in favor of a design that looks like a WordPress template? The new tabs look like cardboard cutouts. The new read ball looks hideously off-center b/c of the wide-character font you chose for the logo. So much for 10+ years of hard-fought brand equity.

This would not have passed muster when I worked at CNET 5 years ago.

[mhinnewyork]

Throwing away the yellow is a mistake. It's like InfoWorld no longer printing hardcopy, now they're just another website. The yellow made CNET distinctive. Perhaps the light gray bordering the major page sections could be yellow?

[johnwbaxter--2008]

Well, we'll see. Either it will be as easy to use as the old site, or harder but not so hard I won't tolerate, or--if I dislike it enough--I'll just go away.

[nopinktoday]

Looks abit more cleaner and looks more professional! Although I would pick different colors, this will due I guess. (People are just never satisfied ^_^!)

[bodacious99]

well, i agree with dan. i think the new look is a major improvement. congrats to all

[zxspectrum--2008]

Still looks bad!

[cnastro]

if it ain't broke don't fix it

[Taen-S]

I like the Yellow, Green and Red of C|net. I find websites designed as your proposed design to be bland and it doesn't attract my attention like the yellow does. It helps identify C|net as C|net.

The tabs up the top look good, hopefully searching on here will be better as I, like some have mentioned, have trouble finding reviews or articles that we're looking for. Though, they look a little too square for me, that's just my personal preference. I like the rounded edges of the current buttons up top.

However, I dislike keeping a white background. I've found that many people get headaches from looking at computer screens with websites that have white backgrounds. The point of most websites (like this) is to provide the consumer with information or entertainment, dependent on what the consumer is after, and in turn the consumer will spend more time on the site. However, people won't stay on their site long if they keep getting headaches while looking at their page. This is something I find many web designers make the mistake of. They think "White like a writing page" but this is such a bad idea for websites.

Just my opinion...

[nope327]

looks great. cant wait to take it for a run.

[Jim Mingin]

I am okay with the layout but keep the original logo and you got to have some yellow. That IS CNET. I should know. I spent 6 years of my life running CNET's creative dept production and making sure the yellow was the right yellow. If you get rid of the yellow, you will abandon a fundamental part of what people remember. "Oh, you mean the yellow site". It would be like IBM getting rid of blue.

[Bronzit]

I prefer the PRESENT Topic Title followed by its summary. Don't give it up for the crass sake of "Change"!!!

[cowdesigner]

The new design does not keep the identity of what the current site has created over the years. To me, the new design feels like you are not capitalizing on what CNET has always been -- a progressive and informative site. Somehow the new design feels more like you're moving backwards and you're losing the character of what made CNET a unique site to begin with.

[calculatorwatch]

While I do like almost everything about this redesign, I do agree with a lot of people that say changing the logo and losing the yellow and green make the site a lot more boring and unoriginal. Also, the 5 star rating system is way too imprecise for me since like everything now has 3-4 stars now unless it's really good or bad, the decimals meant a lot in those ratings.

[cowdesigner]

Seriously, how old is the kid who designed the new site? It's HORRIBLE!!

[assclownbush]

Thanks for making my decision to go elsewhere for tech news a lot easier. Pathetic design.

[assclownbush]

It's bad enough the "news" is nothing more than week old garbage but now CNUT resorts to outsourcing just to get some slave labor Indian lackey to design this mess. Black, red and powder blue...you folks have lost whatever remaining credibility you had left.

[dirtyharry45]

DF - thanks for the reply. Your commenting feature does not allow me to reply back, so I have to start a new comment. [as an aside, fix your blog commenting ;) ] I agree that a lot of cleanup has been done with the redesign, but I'd still like to see someone explain the rationale behind updating the logo & color palette. Many people have built a relationship with the CNET brand, taking personal ownership of it. Take a car, for example - take anyone's BMW hood ornament, & swap that blue for orange - & I guarantee you will have outrage. A silly analogy, perhaps - but it makes a point. All of the brand's attributes (great German engineering, or great editorial content) can quickly be distilled (& remembered) by users with a single element - a logo, a typeface, a color. CNET's had its name bastardized so much over the years in press (c|net, Cnet, cnet), that I can see losing the pipe. Even updating the font is acceptable. However, I think your biggest contention is going to be surrounding the color - because thats the part that feels a little like a revolution, not evolution. Think of how much the NBC logo has evolved over the years - but its still a peacock with the rainbow palette. Evolution. Best of luck.

[dfarber]

Thx...good points and I will share with the team....

[repaddict]

People are soooo afraid of change. I can't wait for the new look. Do you really think CNET was going to stick with the same ol yellow and green for another decade? Things change with time. Learn to accept and adapt!

[extirpator]

Image is 90% of most companies identity. The yellow is part of c|nets identity. Change is good if it improves something; however, black is among the most over used colors on the web as it's subtle, but by being subtle it lacks identity and uniqueness. Thus it's the opposite of what they currently have, which is a unique identity.

[osmanmohamed]

WOw. i like it , when is it launching