2005
• Overall very simple and to the point with a clunky, albeit minimal header.
• Pleasing 1/3 column widths. Almost.
• Doodles throughout the site underscore the connection to cartoons found in print newspapers and hearken back to the "handmade" nature of newspapers.
• Colour palette of green, white, black, orange with a very distinctive colour green not found in competitors.
• Just the date on the upper right corner, which again is like a print newspaper. What's funny is that the use of a date on a newspaper serves to mark the day the news is printed; here you know what day it is when you're surfing on huffingtonpost.com and since news is so instant, there's really no need for a date. Ah, nostalgia. Anyway, there is a clear need to maintain a close visual connection with print newspapers.
• Comments are attached to every story to emphasize the cool connectedness of the internets.
2006
• Check out the header. We get animated cartoon stars, again hearkening back to the doodles of printed newspapers, but with the added benefit of being animated thanks to the glory of the web. The typeface is still squat and the tracking is too loose, but at least the design folks are remaining consistent.
• The menu system directly under the header looks more like that of a typical web site. But it is 2006 and the idea of rollover buttons separated by hairlines is pretty slick.
• Let there be search! There is a lot of information on this site and people want to dig in to the archives or at least be able to find something relevant that's not necessarily on the front page.
• Note that the search button is in Apple's visual identity and is simple. Also, having a drop shadow calls it out.
2007
• Arguably the best and most mature design of the bunch, as the header is clean and balanced without any upper clutter. The typeface has been refined to become authoritative and larger, and more akin to the proportions of a printed newspaper like The Washington Post.
• "Top News and Opinion" looks great as the tagline and the delicate gray doesn't detract from the green title, but rather works in tandem with the horizontal hair line and helps anchor the entirety of the header and menu system.
• Who needs a button to call out that something is clickable when it is now expected that everything on the internet is clickable.
• Enter the blogosphere. On the top right of the main menu "All Blogs" now has real estate.
2009
• Overall it seems like there is a direct correlation between the amount of information out there on the internet and the amount of buttons, links, bells, whistles etc. on the HuffPo home page.
• The header is getting weighed down by the "Big News" menu, which is helpful in identifying the hot news keywords of the moment. It is certainly more compact than a damn word cloud, but it does cut into the brand identity and makes the header top-heavy.
• HuffPo comes into its own with a firm position and statement to stick it to the printed guys: "The Internet Newspaper: News Blogs Video Community"
• We get a news ticker underneath the double-decker main menu, which looks good and has a good function, but could perhaps be replaced by the "Big News" hot key words since there is too much going on up here.
• The search button has returned and now has a more subtle appearance. Google is roped in for credibility.
• Part of me wishes there was a big, bold news story headline on the top left of the first column -- instead of the goofy quote -- to make my eye go somewhere in the news section. As it is, everything blurs together in equal weight.
• Stressing user involvement, the date is now sharing space with "Log In" and "Sign Up" since it's not just the newspaper for June 14, 2009 but your newspaper for June 14, 2009.
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