Craigslist Redesign
Background
In an effort to challenge myself and my design capabilities, I decided to take on a personal project to redesign Craigslist’s website. Their site and their users would benefit greatly from a modern update through the use of color theory, typography, and well thought out user experience flows.
Beginning
Via DesignShack.net
“Craigslist is one of the most popular classifieds ads websites on the Internet. Craig Newmark started Craigslist as a simple email list back in 1995 and turned it into a website in 1996. From the looks of things, it’s safe to assume that the website might be using the same design they used back in 1996.
According to SimilarWeb, Craigslist receives over 360 million visitors every month. Yet it has one of the worst website designs you’ll ever see. Craigslist website design consists of all the mistakes you’d want to avoid when designing a website.”
Components
I started by creating some simple components I could use for the page. I was inspired by the retro look that Craigslist has today and decided to continue along with that theme. I started by choosing a color palette which consists of “visited link” purple and “default link” blue as primary colors. The typography also follows this throwback theme by using Times New Roman as a main font and Arial as a complimentary secondary font. Craigslist’s current logo is sometimes paired with a peace sign which I’ve used in the footer.
homepage
Upon visiting the site, users are greeted with a call to action called “Find your thing.” A modern minimalistic navigation allows users to peruse the site easily. Additional features added include “Popular categories in your area”, reviews, and “New items in your area.”
Product page
Another important feature to note is the product page. This is the main reason that a user may navigate to Craigslist which makes this just as important as the homepage. Alongside the left pane is the product photo and the price tag. On the right I have included an item description with the capability to message the seller or buy the product/service on the spot.