Davis | Week 10 (Grid) Response

YouTube takes advantage of a grid system of the layout for its website. In order for people to easily access popular videos on the homepage, the links need to be laid out in a way that makes them easily organizable and visible. YouTube seems to accomplish this well in some regards, and not so well in other regards. They have been able to put a lot of content on the homepage, mainly because of the layout. The grid allows the video links to all fall into place, as opposed to being scattered around. And, all video links lie within a boundary, preventing tension in the viewer.

Now on to the problems. Firstly, their seems to be a variety of different grid systems in play: one at the very top with the four links, one right below that with the one big link and three little links, and a third on the right with the vertically stacked links. There's so many links! And they're all different sizes. This, to me, is confusing. Obviously, my mind is telling me that the biggest clip is the most important. But, if so, why is it located in the middle of the page, not the top? And, the ad on the right pushes the grid on the right down. The result: the left and right grids do not align at the top. This bothers me.

The grid system does force the eye to move around the page in an almost circular motion. So, it keeps the viewer engaged. However, perhaps there is just a little bit too much engagement. Perhaps it's just a little too overwhelming.