Another Facebook Makeover.

Facebook has done it again! This is not the first time that Facebook leaving its users fuming. The Australian.com in September 2008 reported that, 100 millions of users were unhappy with the changes of the new outlook of Facebook.

Layout changes made by Facebook (2004 & 2009).

Facebook’s new changes were due to the trend of wanting to share videos and photos instantly. According to the vice president of marketing Chamath Palihapitiya, they “want to make sure it is easy for people to push and pull information in the form of bite-size content rather quickly."

So what makes Facebook a good design interface?

According to Martinec & van Leeuwen (2006), the hierarchy of information must be clear, as in, the centre of information must be on the highest hierarchy; which is the most important factor in a social networking site. Facebook has consistency in their website. Affiliate seeking (2004) stated that, the navigation of a website’s buttons and bars must be easy to understand and use. Nowadays, we can see that Facebook pages are able to load quickly. Pictures (by album upload) can also be uploaded fast with the existence of Java.

The recent changes that Facebook made this year (2009), enables its users to personalize the updates they wish to prioritize, making it more user-friendly.

Side bar(features) can be arrange according to preference.

Although I am satisfied with the new changes made by Facebook, there are still ways to improve the design layout of the site. Firstly, Facebook could try to arrange its users’ friends list in a hierarchical order (by prioritizing friends that we often interact with). Apart from that, simple design layout can be applied.

Simple layout recommended for Facebook.

Gawdy designs (from Myspace profile) Facebook should avoid.

According to Lynn all facebook profiles has the same white background and blue banner which makes it look clean, modern and sophisticated. However, there are too much white space which can be improved by utilizing it. The weight balance should also be distributed evenly.

White space and weight balance should be distributed evenly.

Facbook has been successfully popular in the world today eversince it was founded in 2004. However, each time Facebook tries to improve by redesigning their layout, users get mad. Some even create hate groups like “We hate the new Facebook layout, give us the old one back.” In terms of audience acceptance, it takes time for users to get used to each layout. All Facebook ever did was respond to the suggestions its users give to improve themselves. They deserve two thumbs up!

List of References:


AffiliateSeeking.com, 2004. Web Page Design with Graphic Button,viewed 18 November 2009, available http://www.affiliateseeking.com/ashow/151.html


AFP, 2008, Facebook Makeover Leaves some devotees Fuming, viewed 18 November 2009, available
<http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/facebook-makeover-leaves-some-devotees-fuming/story-e6frgamx-1111117453632>


Agrawal, R 2009, 9 Ways to Improve the Facebook News Feed, viewed 18 November 2009, available < http://blog.agrawals.org/2009/04/15/9-ways-to-improve-the-facebook-news-feed/>


Lynn, R. 2009, ‘Learning to Like Facebook?’ Effects of Cultural and Educational Capital on the Use of Social Network Sites in a Population of University Students. Thesis, University of Missouri: St. Louis.


Martinec, R & van Leeuwen, T, 2006. The Language of New Media: Theory and Practice. Kentucky: Routledge.