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Site design is incredibly difficult. How to fit as much information into the space while not overwhelming the users is an intense balancing act. I am starting to get used to the new design of the site, but just thought I would make a few suggestions in case anyone is listening and willing to consider making a few more changes:
Background color - Now that the content of the site is in the center of the screen, I think the borders on the left and right might look better if they are made distinct from the central column. As it stands, where all background is white, the headline section seems to kind of bleed into the outside blank space. Maybe central column could be light blue and leave borders white, or vice versa.
Top of the Page - The big banner-like header at the top of the site takes up a whole lot of space and is functionally useless. Maybe it could be thinner. Also, the headlines could be moved above the advertisements.
Pictures - If there is a compelling picture that could accompany an article, it would look really nice to have it featured on the front page of the site. I think Drudge sees a lot of success because of the photos they choose to display. The OEN editors could just choose which pictures to make larger. Eg., Mr. M's cartoons.
Ads Column - Start the ads column next to the diaries section, keeping the headlines clean and centered. This would improve the look of the site a lot.
Okay. That's it for now. I know how hard designing sites is and figured I'd offer my humble opinion.
