Thoughts on the soon to be released Vimeo redesign

Last Thursday I was given access to the beta of Vimeo’s new redesign, a bold effort to to make the site feel very 2K12, rather than 2009. Here are some thoughts on the goods and the could-have-been-betters of the design.

- The UI is a ton cleaner, giving all the focus to the video. This is evident in a couple spots like the home page, which now gives you three different ways to view the site, the version above being my favorite. The large, bold preview images definitely take the focus.

- The top navigation now opens up to reveal a drawer full of options, which is a great way to showcase a ton of different places to go. It’s also nice that they spell out what each section will contain for people who are unfamiliar.

- The individual video pages have also been cleaned up immensely. All you really see is a giant video on your screen, the way it was meant to be.

- Text hierarchy has strongly enforced around the site, telling you exactly what you should be looking at, such as the titles of the videos which come in at a whopping 36 px font.

- The More Video tab at top is a nice touch, showing related content as well as videos you’ve recently views and other videos from the user who’s video page you’re on. Some people I showed said they wouldn’t have noticed it though, so perhaps it’s a bit too discrete?

- Glad they didn’t touch the video player, it’s perfect.

- They now give you a more clear option to switch between the Flash and HTML5 player. Unfortunately, the HTML5 player sucks and barely worked when I used it at home. That said, my developer friends at work said that HTML5 sucks at playing video, so this probably shouldn’t reflect on Vimeo.

- The sidebar feels a bit sloppy and slightly overwhelming. It’s definitely treated subordinately, which I’m sure is the point, but it ended up feeling a it neglected. Not sure if there’s a fix or if they should change anything, but it was something I’d noticed.

- The site is starting to feel more social, like you’d want to try and hunt down your friends and see what they’re doing. I didn’t get this vibe before and never bothered to look. The only users I followed were those making rad shit, using the site more like a bookmarking system.

Overall I’d say the redesign is a huge step forward, especially for it’s art and design-centric community. Looking forward to the Vimeo team to continue rolling out improvements like these, hopefully they don’t take another few years.

Bobby

Architects Have Answers

The video above is made from snippets of 20 interviews with architectural luminaries. Conducted by Luca Farinelli, the interviews are published in the latest issue of Log, and it’s funny to see how the architects’ answers compare to each others… or maybe it’s not surprising that Peter Eisenman thinks that only architects make architecture. And then there are other kinds of surprising answers: When asked if he prefers a Mac or PC, Rober Stern (Dean, Yale School of Architecture) answers: “Never turned on a computer my entire life.” But maybe this just means that he has someone else to turn a computer on for him.

This issue of Log also has an article by Nicholas de Monchaux (remember him?) writing about the painted and unpainted fuel tanks of the space shuttle program. And much, much more.

Alex

A Year of Sun with Mr. Persol (Video)

When I started watching the video above, I immediately thought to myself, “This is like a cartoon version of Monocle.” Well sure enough, I wasn’t too far off. This new spot for Persol sunglasses was put together by an A-list team put together by Winkreative, with Tyler Brûlé heading things up as creative director alongside the boys of Fleet Street Scandal, Kevin Dart and Chris Turnham, for direction and design. The color, light and sound of this pot is perfect and idyllic, making the brand seem like the perfect sunglasses for an extraordinary life. Kevin Dart did fantastic job at directing the spot, you can see some of the behind-the-scenes work he did over on his blog, and the backgrounds created by Chris Turnham are also quite spectacular to see. To see a full list of everyone who worked on the spot, click here.

Bobby

‘Address is Approximate’ – A Great Animation by Tom Jenkins

Address is Approximate is a really nice stop-motion film by the British director Tom Jenkins. It’s a charming piece of filmmaking which tells the story of a lonely desk toy who longs to escape his surroundings and head on a cross-country road trip to the Pacific.

Jenkins’ is really inventive with his use of objects and there’s a real fun and playful way in which he uses his surroundings… not to mention his terrific use of Google Street View. Musically, the Cinematic Orchestra‘s track ‘Arrival of the Birds’ also brings something special to this animation, turning this lonely toy’s journey into a surprisingly moving trip.

Philip

‘Beauty Is Embarrassing’, the life and times of Wayne White (video)

The first time I saw Wayne White’s work was in Fred 62, an all-night diner here in Los Angeles. His paintings of colorful phrases and words over found paintings instantly caught my attention, and I was shocked that I had never seen him before that point. Funny enough, after watching the trailer above for the upcoming Wayne White documentary Beauty Is Embarrassing, that actually wasn’t the first time I had seen his work.

Come to find out Wayne was the art director of Pee Wee’s Playhouse, a show that absolutely shaped my childhood. It was insane, it was non-sensical, and it was perfect. It says a lot about who he is, that his work and talent has stretched out for so long, and that I’ve appreciated his work as a child and as an adult. I can’t wait to see this movie, which actually premieres in March at SXSW. Hopefully it comes to Los Angeles soon.

Bobby