The New Yorker About Town Clean Homepage

This website is dedicated to the coverage of cultural happenings around New York City—including, but not limited to, art, music, theater, dance, film, food and drink, and nightlife. The site is a product of The New Yorker, an internationally renowned magazine best known for its singular view into contemporary pop culture and social issues.  

The magazine’s signature design elements—including the infamous character Eustace Tilley and its irreplaceable Irvin typeface—are firmly rooted in the website design. But here, the traditional elements are brought to life with modern animations, dynamic contrasts, and a strong minimal aesthetic, each of which create a truly unparalleled UX/UI design.

The site’s home navigation bar places a gray-scale image of the New Yorker’s logo—Mr. Tilley—at the top left of the page. This logo doubles as a home button for the magazine.  A black and white animated cartoon sits top center, an ode to the satirical cartoons made famous by the magazine. To the far right, the user finds two simple navigation buttons—subscribe and sign in.

Below the top navigation bar, there is a second, fixed navbar. Choosing to make the first bar white and the second bar black adds dynamic contrast. The title of the site, appearing in the infamous Irvin typeface, is placed in the center of this bar. Gray hover-activated buttons sit to the far left. A modern approach to web design, these buttons use icons to streamline information for the user—list view or map view?

A large, bold, dramatic photo sits just below the second navbar, running down to the fold. It splits the screen with a short text summary. Using just four colors—black, white, gray, and a touch of red—this site’s header reflects the dramatic use of minimalism that’s to come.

The New Yorker About Town Clean Website Design

Upon scroll, the second navbar remains fixed at the top of the page. Dynamic split screens continue. By keeping text, color, and navigation simple, the site draws users into the photos and peaks further interest into the stories. The use of white space here works to frame the individual content, while making sure the page remains free of clutter.

The New Yorker About Town Clean Interactive Map

If the user decides to escape from the deep scroll by clicking on the map icon, they are confronted with a sleek gray-scale interactive map. The use of red pins creates yet another dynamic contrast, drawing the user further in. Here, the user can toggle in and out of the map as they immerse themselves in the site’s interactivity. The homepage’s top navbars remain fixed, simplifying UI elements, and text lines the left side of the page. Choosing to put this text in a single column grid organizes content and once again reduces clutter.

The New Yorker About Town Clean Layout

Activating the list view icon from the navbar, the user can filter content according to sub-categories. From here, the site again uses a grid c to organize content, placing all thumbnails in a single row under the labeled sub-section—art, food and drink, dance, etc.

Choosing to alternate background colors for the thumbnails (gray, white, gray, white) adds a subtle contrast, allowing each thumbnail to stake it’s own claim on the page. These simple design elements provide yet another striking example of the dynamic contrasts created by the site—a site where the perfect mix of traditional and modern design elements have set the stage for an incredibly smooth user experience.

The New Yorker About Town is a top website design in the Arts & Recreation and Entertainment industries.