There aren’t a lot of news sites with black backgrounds for the simple reason that it isn’t easy on the eyes (not to mention it is ugly). But that hasn’t stopped Bloomberg from taking its signature look from its old-style terminals to the Web. Its site sports garish gold headlines on a black background (see second screenshot below).
Somebody finally told them that the Web does not need to look like a two-tone terminal, so Bloomberg is trying out a new design (preview). At least the background is white, but it still seems like a work in progress.
The design is more bloggy, and less like a traditional news site, which makes sense since Bloomberg is more like a newswire. Headlines flow down the page in a blog-like manner, with one-sentence excerpts in preview-boxes. These are followed by a stream of even briefer headlines, with articles then broken out into different section boxes way down at the bottom of the page.
Video is highlighted and the search is supposed to be improved. If you click through to Bloomberg TV, you get three live streams (U.S., Europe, and Asia). The live video is probably the best part of the site, but it’s still a little bit hidden. Why not put a big video thumbnail prominently above the fold? Market data is on the right, and house ads for Businessweek (which Bloomberg now owns) and, yes, its bread-and-butter terminals are also there. And of course there are the now-ubiquitous Fan and Follow buttons for Facebook and Twitter.
Which version do you like better?
Bloomberg L.P. is a financial software services, news and data company created by Michael Bloomberg in 1982. Bloomberg provides news, data, analytics and communication for the global business and financial world. We provide a competitive edge for influential decision makers by connecting them to a robust network of people, information and ideas. As the market leader in financial information technology, we connect people to opportunities. Smart, Bold, Open and Dynamic by definition, our innovative offerings are limitless: real-time and historical pricing...
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