An Icon's Evolution on the Web

National Geographic has enthralled and amazed readers since 1888 with its incredible, awe-inspiring photography. It fascinatingly documents the growth, persistence, and abundance of life on earth.

Has the online version of National Geographic (“NatGeo” for short) lived up to the standard set by its print version?  Has it transitioned well onto the internet?  Well ...

Method of Evaluation

This blog provides a cursory review and analysis of the evolution of "NatGeo" online by quickly reviewing the website's homepage at three different time points over the last seven years.  Utilized is an internet time-portal called the Wayback Machine, available at http://archive.org/web/web.php.

Adopted here are three standards of judgment, paraphrased, from Stephen Krugs' Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability.  Good webpage design involves three inter-related factors: elegance and ease of design, approachability and intuitiveness of use, and simplicity and straightforwardness of concept layout.

 Evaluation

Utilizing the standards above, a clear and steady progression of improved web design on the NatGeo website can be seen by comparing its appearance on August 10, 2005; May 16, 2008; and August 28, 2012.

The most striking difference from ’05 to ’12 version initially is the vastly improved aesthetic.  In ’05 the website had more words than photos and the photos were small.  In ’08 the photos were slightly larger and more abundant but there’s still less imagery than print.  By ’12 the website has become – like the print publication itself – a veritable feast for the eyes.  There are numerous large photos accompanied by terse captions, either of which may be clicked to see or learn more – a note which leads to consideration of approachability and intuitiveness of design.

In '05 the website's homepage was cluttered and cramped; much of the font was the same size and it is rendered even more difficult to read because almost everything is underscored.  Improvements marked the ’08 version wherein the categories are more clearly delineated and various size fonts (which aren’t all underscored) make it a little easier to scan and sift through the abundance of text.  The ’12 version is wonderfully streamlined with well-demarcated sections containing a variety of font sizes and colors, which helps the minimal amount of text to really pop on the screen.  Likewise, with each successive version of the website the search box became more prominent and was rendered more conspicuous, thereby contributing to the simplistic ease of browsing the ‘12 version.

Summary

In ’05 the site was cluttered with a haphazard layout.  By '08 it had been given a sleeker presentation and been improved by a friendlier, more intuitive feel.  By August of 2012 the site is sleek, elegant, and wonderfully streamlined; it’s so simply arranged and neatly organized that navigating through its content is gleefully intuitive.

National Geographic's legendary photography, to those who’ve encountered its magazines, illumines and enlarges our understanding of the earth we inhabit.  Its improved appearance on the web will assist in continuing that noble endeavor.