Condé Nast Digital
Style.com
From its inception, Style.com lived up to Condé Nast’s legacy of striking visuals, and the site continues to be one of the most well-designed destinations on the Web. But as the site itself has grown over the years to encompass so much more than galleries of runway images, it has been rebuilt and rethought for video, blogs, user-generated content and a navigation system that can weave it all together into a singular ensemble.
The site succeeds in keeping the look simple with a clear hierarchy of featured content, a call-out box that ratchets through scores of direct links in a well-contained box and a right rail “feed” of blog content. Style.com glides where many other sites trip down the runway by packing a tremendous amount of content above the fold without a whisper of clutter. A center column of short pieces pulls the eye down the page for more. The site retains its order and elegance on virtually every page. Each major channel has a lush feature story image that makes each of these hubs feel like a home page unto itself.
Few sites online pay such meticulous attention to giving the user visual cues about where they are in a site and to making sure that every page looks about as well-designed as a magazine. But for all of its gorgeous design on the site, Style.com content is built to pack and travel well. Its RSS feeds and mobile app pull the same core content wherever and however the user wants to access it, and this portability serves Style.com well in search engine discovery as well. From its image-rich pages and seamless integration of text, images and sponsor messages, to its wash-and-wear portability, Style.com continues to show how magazines can make the Web a better place for content.
Honorable Mentions:
Condé Nast Digital – Epicurious: In 2009 Epicurious didn’t leave its sense of style and design at the home page. It extended its signature look and user-friendliness to encompass an iPhone app that is as enticing as its recipes and a live event, Epicurious Entertains, NYC.
IAC/InterActiveCorp – The Daily Beast: In little more than a year, the Beast has become ranked among the top 10 blogs in the world, in part because of a distinctive look and feel that blends the immediacy of the endless blog scroll with the visual impact of still and video imagery.
PEOPLE/Time Inc. – People.com: The undisputed queen of celebrity news and fashion, People.com pulls more than half of its incoming traffic of 11 million users into a front page that that telegraphs to visitors exactly the headlines they are looking for, and the best, most timely images that People has to offer.
Saveur – Saveur.com: It is all about falling in love with the food, and the redesign of Saveur.com put enormous, mouth-watering images of irresistible dishes front and center. But the site also crowds around the main entrees a fresh supply of complementary side dishes and content condiments that make up a stunning smorgasbord.
Smart Meetings – Smartmeetings.com: Leveraging more color than most b2b site designers even know exist, Smart Meetings uses visual branding of “Smart” content categories and franchises to create an engaging daily experience.
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