Guide Note on the left

Should the title move to the left on this now that the Guide Note is on the left?

Normally there would be an image here.

These notes should be supportive of the Search Results, not the other way around, the way it looks is that you are answering a question and showing a bunch of citations to support it, it almost turns it into a wiki.

The option to add a thumbnail image on the right hand side of the title banner. Thumbnail could help user better identify if article is the right one they are looking for. The thumbnail could also go on the left of the title banner, but it would likely get lost in the clutter.

Rag right is too light weight. The guide note on the right helps balance the page nicely.

With the logo above the Guide data it seems too crowded and the Guide Note becomes easily overlooked. Logo should be tied to the Web Search dialog box and not to the Guide component.

This is a very natural location for the branding of the site I think. The guide notes are cramping it in a bit though.

Slide out Guide notes with a nice little arrow and some Ajax. See Google reader left hand bar.

Beta is overly tired and a cop out - a website is, should be, constantly in flux anyway.

I would keep the page title above the guide note with plenty of white space surrounding it. The guide note downplays the title, which I'm assuming is not intended.

Use bullets keeping text economy in mind. Web users scan, not read.

Sorry but this #FCF7E3 background just reminds me of the testimonial divs on all those endless sales-letter sites...

Perhaps the logo should be (just a smideg) larger, and a bit lower, with the Guide note being level with the "Also Try" or the "The Mahalo Top 7". The added whitspeace would make it look less cramped, and the logo and main Title form a banner header.

Ragged right is fine for this side the top right is what anybody with a compressed browser will see (not full screen)

The headers should allow for compression/expansion depending on browser size. Search should be to the far right.

Placing the Guides on the left gives them prominence over the search terms. As a search engine, aren't the results more important than ancillary elaborations?

The search section no longer has a visual anchor to which it is left-aligned. A designer would be able to see the two vertical layout columns, but most others won't.

Center this search feature in the middle of the results column (like the logo). I would keep the links below the field left-aligned.

I think the Paragraph titles should be centered. My high school journalism teacher would "bleed" red in on that.
And maybe put the line that's under the headline over it instead to show division between the paragraphs

The YouTube video should be placed in a similar spot as it is on youtube. People's eyes are more comfortable with that.

Looking at the full length mock-up "prev" from here, you may want to make some of the boxes below the Guide Note collapsable. The large whitespace in the main column makes the content look somehow incomplete.

Please more spacing between items

I would keep the guide note on the right to keep things from being cramped. The search results are in outline form and left aligned you will consistently have a lot more white space to the right. Also, since people read left to right, their eyes will be drawn first to the results.

These indents don't add to the information categorization. So move the title to the right, and have a bit more white.

Perhaps make the guide notes collapsible/saved user pref. Agree with note below that results are more important than guide notes.

Allow user prefs to determine whether guide notes are in left or right column - also make columns left/right collapsible.

Generally, it looks busy and hard to read. Unless I was very interested, I'd move on.

Move fast facts up towards top of page for faster access.

Considering that color and placement define significance, you are telling the viewer that the guide notes are more significant than the search results. Is that what you want? If yes, it's fine, though the color palette is a bit bland. It makes me feel that Im in a waiting room with Manilow playing

This youtube box looks out of place just floating in the middle of no where -- with the sections reversed it would at least be closer to an edge and feel less floating.

It looks very cluttered, should have some space between them.

There's a lot of unused space. Maybe can have some icons with the stories or for the categories.

I'm with Dean above. This is an extremely busy look, that could use more white space. Also, the tendency in the west for two-column layouts is for "explanatory" content to be embedded or on the right. I would prefer to see all the "Guide Note" items as popups or CSS popouts. Whitespace = readability

With everything going to the left, maybe the youtube screen can go centered, to even the weight between the left and right columns.

The font here wouldn't hurt to be a bit larger. The Guide notes work well on the left if you think about most people reading in a 'L' shape. If it's important, it should be here :).

Insert some graphics or a stronger color to really break the space between the 2 columns, because the text can be read continuosly.

I prefer this here. Putting it above the guide note could mean it would get lost.
In this image, it looks like it needs a bit more differentiation from the elements around it, and maybe more white space - but I think that's down to scaling in this image.

Maybe make the youtube a small view and enlarge when someone elects to watch

I think these fonts look tiny because the picture's so small; when this is the size of a browser window, these fonts won't seem so small.

This seems to be the conventional place to stick the branding, but that doesn't mean it's the right place for Mahalo. Does the page look a bit less 'full' if you switch the search box and the branding over? It might draw the reader's eye back to the right, which may give the page more balance.

I think you should put back the picture you have on the 'guide note right' page. It adds interest to the page

the writing looks cluttered needs more space

Am i the only one who would like something on top of the search bar ?
Francis Vallieres

Agreed Videos should be either at the top or bottom of a post page.

Without citations of some kind, I don't trust the information. What if mousing over a sentence or paragraph highlighted links from the right-side main page which were used to support the claim?

"Guide Note" implies that the information pertains to using Mahalo. How about something like "About the Global Food Crisis" or even just "Topic Info"?

This is far too large. The space used by this video is in an area that will be heavily-trafficked by eyeballs, and users won't get any value from it unless they engage with the content and click "play".

This whole chunk of your page will be ignored by users and search engines alike.

Users ignore "Web Search" boxes. Either make it a Mahalo-specific search box (and label it as such) or make clear which search engine the box uses.

Guide notes should be collapsible. This question mark should be an "X" icon which can close the column completely.

The prominence of the youtube real estate suggests it is the most important component to the page. The eye tracks directly to it and you risk people not looking at the rest of your conent.

I'd change the color to something a little less obtrusive. Just a thought?

According to the research I have read, people read across the top and then down the right hand side. If you believe the guide notes are more important than I would say the design is good. I however believe the search results are more important.

I would make the Mahalo slightly larger, move the title of the page to thecentre top, and move web search to below the title on the far right of the page.

I would make all the columns collapsable on the left side of the page.

No, do NOT center titles, users will scan down the column, centering will detract.

Anyone 'bleeding' red, is clearly from the print/paper world, digital experiences are far different.

Wow! This is busy!

Guide Note on the left by jasoncalacanis.

what do you guys think of Guide Note on the left, search result on the right?

Currently the opposite on Mahalo:
www.mahalo.com/Global_Food_Crisis

PLEASE USE THE ADD NOTE feature above to show specific details you like/don't like/think we should work on.

NOTE: The 100 best comments/thoughts on this post will get a Mahalo Pack like this dude: www.ustream.tv/recorded/379599

if you were one of the comments before April 29th at 11am PST that was intelligent please email me your flickr name and snailmail address at jason@mahalo.com and cc admin@calacanis.com

This photo has notes. Move your mouse over the photo to see them.

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Comments

< Prev 1 2 3 Next >

(231 comments)

jasoncalacanis says:

Note: this is just a mock up, obviously it's not perfect. Trying to get feedback on the content on the left and links on the right as opposed to the other way around which we currently have.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

alexxie says:

I Like it :), to be honest never looked in the right (now left column)
Tales
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

ciclismosam11 says:

looks pretty clean and easy to use use...not too complicated i like it
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Jack Danger Canty says:

I'm with alexxie - I actually have to force myself to read the guide notes on the right because it's unintuitive to look there.

guide on the left means I'm more likely to read it.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

kmkelley617 says:

My eye separates the two sections too much now. It's almost like the links on the right belong to mahalo global now, not the topic on the right.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Dean Gray says:

more white space plz.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

geistbear says:

Very clean look, I like it
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

bigbold says:

It's better on the right.

Why? That's how sidenotes and sidebars are typically (though not always - sometimes it flip flops with binding direction) arranged in books. Further, this is also somewhat a standard online too. Wikipedia is a prime example of putting metadata and sidebars relevant to the main content on the right.

Some conventions are worth breaking, but not this one, I feel. If anything were to go on the left, it would be navigation.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

josejose50 says:

Like the way it looks, it fits the western reading style (left to right, top to bottom) better than the original. Also ensures summary is there in case I have the browser window is mis-sized.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Nanda Sunu says:

guide note works better on the left, makes me actually read it for once.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

netliving says:

Jason, I think It looks more clearly.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Scott ISH says:

Looks odd, but maybe because I'm used to it on the right. But I agree with Dean, as well.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

shareme_fg says:

I like it. very clean and integrates better with Mahalo logo visual cues
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

ASDavis says:

I would definately move the title of the page over to the left over the Guide Note. Great idea to bring attention to it though!
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

mvietti06 says:

Look good and well organized.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

sarah k allen potemkin says:

I like the current design better. It is reminiscent of a college textbook callout. My eye assumes that what is on the left is a quick look, but that the notes on the right are the "deep-dive". In the newer design, my eye jumps around and doesn't know where to focus.

But then I'm not a UI/IA person...
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

DeaPeaJay says:

I like this new positioning better. the right column of a site tends to be ignored by most users who've become accustomed to ads in that space. www.useit.com/eyetracking/

But, I also think the content should be centered on the browser window rather than left aligned.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Amazing Angie says:

I like it! I would suggest centering the serp title above the links rather than moving it all the way to the left.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Raphaelt says:

Considering that I sent CK Sample an email a week or so ago touching on my problems with the guide note being on the right (and causing horizontal scroll bars to appear if the browser window was too narrow), I'm all for this new approach!

I would suggest that you make the title area full width, spanning both the guide notes and the main content beneath it, or at least the DIV for it (the actual title text could be right-justified perhaps, or have something of a left margin).
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Drew Olanoff says:

Looks very odd. You want the meat of the content front and center.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Drew Olanoff says:

I'd have it sexy and slide guidenotes out with ajax. Ala google reader. (and gimme cred if you do it lol)
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

bigbold says:

@Jack Danger Canty: The whole point of a sidebar is that it only needs to be read to get further information on the main content, which both should be significantly more visible and should be read first.

Sidebars provide "meta" content and do not need to be in an intuitive place (although the right is typically where meta content /is/ put, so I'm not sure how it's not intuitive, unless you're not a regular user of reference material).
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Ryan Budke says:

As it's been said above, I like the left handed guide notes much better.

Also, I like the length of them, for me the, more text, the more info in general, the better. The more info you can get on one page, the more likely the audience Mahalo is going after is likely to stick around and stay on the site (or at the very least keep coming back to it as a reference) rather than using it as a jumping off point and you'll never see them again.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

bravegirlSF says:

Think you should increase the width of your content and reduce the width of your links to the size of a youtube box. That is, if your intent is to give more emphasis to your content.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

zwigby says:

I agree with bigbold and drew olanoff on this.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Scott Cropper [deleted] says:

Title needs to move left so it spans both columns.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

killercarrot says:

too texty, more white space to break it up please
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Happy Fun Time says:

Guide note on the right. And keep in mind how any assistive technology will handle it. If it's deeper information it should be secondary and presented after the major topics and headlines.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

dewtheone says:

I think the content should take more space on the page than the links...cause the content is what's important
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

michaelo says:

What do you want people to read first?

Not sure if the accepted page design theory still holds in web design these days - the idea that the reader's eye traces a "lazy-z" path across the page, starting at the top left. If the design and usability gurus still believe that's the right approach, then I'd be tempted to go with your new layout.

Mahalo isn't about quick hits or casual info-sipping for me, it's more about finding contextually dense and genuinely useful info to support my research. So, from my perspective, the Guide Notes are the most useful part of the page. I'd stick 'em up in the top left, but I would also move the title over to bridge the two main columns.

Just my opinion, of course.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Infobahn says:

A log of gray on the side bar. My eye moves away from the left to the title and copy below.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

rndforge says:

I think the guide notes should be considered the main content. The reason your human powered experiment is different. To highlight this I think your switch is correct, but I think you should inverse the color makeup to make the Links the sidebar (yellow) and the guide the content.

Hope that makes sense.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

SarekOfVulcan says:

It looks nice, but it moves the focus of the page from the links to the supplied text, which I think is _not_ what you're looking for.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

ironmask says:

I like the old better, better emphasis on search. Whats the focus? Search or are you taking on wikipedia?
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

bigbold says:

@DeaPeaJay: Nielsen's findings do not support your argument. In the first image, the right hand sidebar (within the content) gets more eyeballs than the far left general navigation bar.

It is worth noting that the orientation of objects on their pages, however, does not have a /significant/ effect on eyeball time. It's the content that's doing it. Graphics, whether at the top, right, bottom, or left, are not getting much eyeball time compared to the text.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

evantravers says:

I read an article which states that the eye by default goes across the header, than goes down the left, and then goes Z thru the content. I think this design fits that, and will be more effective.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

indigoskye says:

I think guide note on the left maybe more SEO-friendly, but is less friendly to visitors who want the top few picks quickly. If the goal is to promote the guide notes over the moderated content, then the new version works. I would just rather see the moderated content be given priority.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

rickfle says:

Kinda cluttered, but much better than current design.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

shareme_fg says:

The other net effect I like is that the guide sections on the guide not e match the main content sections horizontally thus giving more visual cues to read both the guide notes and the main content.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

hawksdomain says:

I think it looks great, the left side just seems the obvious place to look for the most 'important' info, I'm guessing you are wanting the 'Guide Notes' to be considered the most important info, plus it is usually a summary of what you might find on the rest of the page.

I want my Mahalo Pack! Wasn't just blowing smoke to get it tho!! :)
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Topshelf 14 says:

I like it except for the fact that the headings seem to "tombstone" a bit. (Sorry, the J-school influencecreeps in occasionally...)
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

brandanf says:

I like it because it breaks up the "default page layout" i am more likely to read something that my eyes are not used to
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Exit 50 says:

Its soooo 2007
Less is More
Size if a twitter post works for this ADD surfa bra
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

bigbold says:

I guess one issue here is what is actually the content and what is not. I initially assumed that on Mahalo the main link section would be considered the "content" and that the Guide Notes would be "meta" content suited to a sidebar.

It seems from many of the comments above, though, that many people think the Guide Notes are the "content" and that the links are the meta content! I can certainly see why people would think this, and if it's the case, I think the whole page should be redesigned to deal with this, rather than making the content look like a sidebar regardless of its position.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

junomrpb says:

Prefer it on the right. Since we read left to right, the main content (not the sidebar) should start on the left. The whitespace inbetween the left justified main content and the right sidebar make it easy to differentiate between them and simple to navigate.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Kate_Morris says:

truthfully this example is too packed tight. I don't want to read any of it. But past that, I prefer the side bar to the right. We read left-right in English, so the main content needs to be to the left first. unless it's the sidebar you want seen first, I think you are better off with it the old way.

But I do like the logo on the left side. :)
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

darthweef says:

More white speace would be a good thing.. also eyes go left to right, so major content should be on the left, unless you want to "force" people to acknowledge the guide notes, in which case it is a perfect placement.

I like the design, but the logo should pop a little more, maybe use a different color on the header..

Like it a lot though
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

jyoseph says:

I have to say, I favor the sidebar on the right side. It puts the main content section in focus.

The background color on the sidebar combined with it being on the left side makes the left side of the page too heavy. The "rag right" on the content section in your mockup leaves the page on the right too light.

Looks stellar either way though!
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

chubsdelight says:

quick glance, it looks clean. Me likes it.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

calamierpic says:

I think the guide notes need to be supportive of the Search Results, not the other way around. Additionally as the 30 above me have said, too cluttered and "busy" I like the current one better.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Joe dOgBOi says:

I really prefer the search results on the left. The reason? If I go to a search engine, I'd prefer the search results where my eyes naturally focus. If you move the search results over so that the guide notes draw my eye instead, I'm more likely to move on. The guide notes are optional to me, the search results are not. From a priority standpoint - those items that are most important should be the main focus for the eyes.

Just my devalued American 2 cents.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Rubin421 says:

For reasons I cannot explain, the guide note feels better on the right. But maybe you could allow users to switch btw views.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

eroomd says:

I like the wider Guide Note column, it gives the eye more to read. The current Guide Note is a little too thin, and makes the eye work harder to actually read it, you have to scan more to get a whole sentence.

If you move to this layout, definitely move the title and "Also try:" over both columns, since it will tie the two together.

The concern that I have over the left column Guide Note is that it may require retraining of users who would be used to a left column being used for site navigation. I personally like it, but it may end up being skimmed over by the user who is used to a layout with a left navigation rail.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Prince Kahleeb says:

The new layout is a very big improvement. Having the search result on the right adds a very sophisticated feel to the page and makes the information much more pleasing to the eye. Two thumbs up!
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

timkl says:

The headers in the Guide Note could use some more margin-top.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

joecwik says:

kmkelley617 FTW!
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

ChristiaanV says:

I agree with Dean... more white space. It looks a little too business like for me. I liked the playful look better.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Scott ISH says:

What if the guide note spanned the entire width of the page? As some have noted, it's the most important thing to read when you get to a page on Mahalo. I'd like to see a mock-up of that.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

mr. bellringer says:

I do like this new layout but it is really text heavy. It's hard for me to go to the page and take it all in. I am mainly referring to the Guide notes as I understand that the news feeds/links have to be the way they are.

Maybe it's the lack of white space that is overwhelming. I will keep an eye out for pages that are similar in content but display what I am talking about.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

palmsey says:

I like the note on the left a lot - much more likely to be read. I would have the header span both columns though.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

zwigby says:

I agree again with bigbold, I am not sure what the content is really supposed to be. Are the guidenotes intended to be read every time? If this is the case then I don't think the page conveys that in either case.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

iFranky says:

Guide notes are usually the more important part about Mahalo, IMHO. Especially if they are content rich.

I think 'featured guide note pages' deserve a 1/3-2/3 design. A decent guide note will help me decide which link to click. (More vertical spacing between content areas required in that case though)

So yes, guide notes at the left can be more appropriate.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

joshrholloway says:

Definitely an improvement. I don't know if it's just me, but I could never seen to train my eye to jump over to the right to the guide note. I think it's much more helpful being right where your eye first looks.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

dakodasara says:

Your eyes automatically start from the left, so this really takes away from the "meat" of the site. Some people may not even look at the actual search results, because all they will see is the guide notes.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

dave_merwin says:

Not a fan. I want sidebar content on the right. Sidebar content is by its nature secondary. I want the content top left, the hotspot. with the side bar the different color and on the left it is now getting priority. I also agree, much more white space. Don't become Yahoo.

Dave
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

audrajacks says:

The left side does look better, most sites have traditionally placed ad space on the right side so no one thinks to look there. It flows more naturally like this.
The title should still stay centered and it would seem that you still have room for an image on the left as well.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

worksmarts says:

My reaction is similar to michaelo - reading from top left across to top right and then diagonally is still the best of what we know. The content is well differentiated from the search results - color and placement are both a plus.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

mpuhala says:

As the default behavior, I like the guide notes on the left. If you think of a ruled notebook, the whole purpose of the left margin is for 'notes'.

If I am a member of Mahalo however, I should be able to choose my stylesheet, no? Than, it's my call if it's on the left or right!!
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

David Amodt [deleted] says:

like the guide note on the left as i tend to look for images and comments on the left and straight forward content on the right. mahalo rocks
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

chantal.nadeau says:

we usually look at anything in a clockwise manner, so if the notes are the most important it should look like it does now.

Maybe put your title just above the notes so that it catches the eye right away.

It looks reader friendly this way!
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

DigitalDJ says:

I personally find it a tad weird. Definitely brings more attention to the Guide Note rather than the main body.

I'm personally just comparing it to things such as Google and Wikipedia.

Google - Your search results are on the left.
Wikipedia - Your content on is on the left.

Wikipedia especially has little notes (in some articles) on the right and I think the Guide Notes are partially equivalent to that.

Guide notes are definitely a lot bigger than the Wikipedia TOC or Summary and I still always take a peek to the right to see what's up. With Guide Notes being a ton larger than that I would find that it would be hard to miss.

I would say try to keep it fairly standard, moving it left on an article-like page would be out of standard design IMO.

Slightly off the actual question of left-right though...I think Guide Notes holds a tad too much content on some pages. Maybe move some of it into the main body?

That said, whether or not Mahalo wants to look like Wikipedia is another question :)
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

[Zop] says:

I like the old (current) design better. It's more focused on the content I'm interested in when searching Mahalo.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Luck the Lady says:

Natural. I like it.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

stephenpace says:

I think your proposed new design (guide notes on the left side) looks better.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Mercury4063 says:

( @rocinante from twitter) Like I d'd you, the sidebar on the left is a good idea- people notice it more on the left as right side content is usually for ads- which people often ignore. Images should be expandable, the fact that there are no images in the mockup work nicely, even if they are meant to be there. There should be a link that says "click for image" or something in it, that way people can just focus on reading and -then- see for themselves. It gets the point across more directly instead of distracting the reader with an image obstructing an informative block of text.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

DeaPeaJay says:

@bigbold That may be true, for that particular content, but generally speaking, the *far right* column of a site is for the most part ignored.

And the old layout also just doesn't balance well with my western eyes either. The darker background color of the side bar on the right seems to throw the site's balance off, almost like it's begging for my eye's attention when I'm unaccustomed to looking in that area. It just makes disoriented.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

thumeco says:

I like the guide notes on the left. I've tried to get others interested in Maholo and new people usually miss these notes entirely which makes makes their experience confusing. This should be the default view but advanced users should have the option to move them. Once you understand the guide notes, they work better on the right.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

dstrack says:

It does look a bit more cluttered on the left to me for some reason... Love the AJAX suggestion from Drew. It does draw my attention more on the left tho... I always find myself looking to the right as an after thought.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

portagemedia says:

Maybe it's just me, but notes and main content seem like to me, from a design perspective, they should be different font sizes.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Michael Saul says:

I'm more interested in the content of the links, and I think they should take preceidence on the left. However, I almost always read the Guide first, and then follow the links-maybe it does make more functional sense there.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

artwickson says:

way too busy. simple is as simple does.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Chris Aldrich says:

Unfortunately too much Google search has us mentally block out the content on the left hand side (Guide Note as it currently works) since we're probably expecting advertising there.

Given Mahalo's mission, the Guide Note SHOULD be on the right hand side since it's the handcrafted portion of what the site has which makes it better than other search engines. Any general user just looking for pure links will naturally find them easily on the left hand side anyway if that's the only thing they're looking for. I'd prefer to have a quick overview via Guide Note prior to continuing with a search -- particularly on searches like this one.

Also keeping the site's core function at focus, you should keep the search box at the top on the right hand side (and/or in the middle)

Typographically, there definitely needs to be more whitespace on the page, or break things up in the Guide Note section with an appropriate photo or two.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Andru Edwards says:

I really liked the Guide Note being on the right. The new version looks way too convoluted.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

garridovaz says:

Left-to-right is always more intuitive, at least for left-to-right readers....
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

glampe says:

Which item is the most important, the Guide Note or the links? I think the main focus of the page should be on the left.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

jeffday2k says:

I would narrow the left hand panel and reduce the font a bit, but I like the layout. It is more hospitable and user friendly to the eye.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

Greg Skluzacek says:

Would have to say that I like the search results on the left, it is after all the main focus... people have a natural tendency to view pages left to right, top to bottom, so the main focus should be in the upper right. This seams backwards.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

mikehill33 says:

The Guide note section blends in too well, and looks like a giant brick of text (which means my eye glosses right PAST it).

I'm scanning the prime real estate for a link or an action task path, cluttering it with "helper" text is a waste of space.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

alvesfamily says:

"Guide Note" sounds like generic instructions for using Mahalo in general. Maybe something like summary, highlights or overview would work.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

portagemedia says:

I look at it some more, and I think the visual emphasis on the guide note drives my eye wherever it is - left or right. So in short, I see the guide note first no matter where you put it because of how it's highlighted in the box - and since the font sizes are similar as mentioned before, I follow the next visual cue to gravitate to and that's the box.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

M.Lubinski says:

I think the Mahalo logo should be a little larger. I do like the justification of the text better on this mock-up. This layout seems to centralize stuff more than the other one where it seemed to vertically draw it out.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

rwandering says:

Jason -- I like the new look. Having the guide notes on the left is better because it elevates the curator's content over the links.
Comparing it to the current site, it also looks more balanced.

Considering your pages are fixed width, I think you should center the content horizontally in the browser window.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

jeffday2k says:

also. why not a transparent type of overlay for the guidenote that can be viewed on the left and the toggled or turned off?
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

andrew.wallwork says:

Perhaps even go so far as to put the logo into the search button. Instead of saying "Search" have it say "Mahalo It" or something like that.

Other than that, I'd add the odd bit of whitespace between sections - it looks a little crumpled together right now.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

craiglkirk says:

Left column looks like its not related to the right content. My eyes just bypass it. Needs to integrate better with the subject.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

sigma421 says:

I prefer the guide notes on the right. Naturally the eye looks to the left first (at least for people brought up reading left to right (e.g Latin) script, by pushing secondary content there you make the page more confusing.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

acomicbookgirl says:

I like the new look. It throws me off to see things on the left because EVERY site I go to has it to the right. Its looks cleaner. Good job!
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

grant.griffiths says:

Too much!!! Give us some white space and separate the different areas with something.
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

stevieontario says:

tried to find something to criticize but it looks great, don't think I would change a thing...
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

danballecer says:

I like the old one better. But more to the point, if I get Mahalo swag, I will pimp it all over Hawaii when I get there in two weeks. Natural fit, no?
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

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