ESPN.com redesign requires a quick finger

ESPN.com has launched a new design for its homepage. There's much to like in the new look, which dumps the vertical left navigation rail, thereby allowing larger headline links. The site's softened its color palette significantly, as well. (You can compare with the old look via Archive.org.)

But one innovative feature of ESPN's new home page drove me nuts: The story package links under "Spotlight," under the main package in the left column, rotate from sport to sport. That left me playing the journalistic equivalent of "Whack A Mole," trying to skim the package summaries fast enough to click through before the links rotated to the next sports'. ESPN does provide a moving circle graphic which lets you know visually how much time you have until the next rotation. But that just makes the reader feel like a game show contestant playing the lightning round.

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