The New Flickr
Flickr's undergone a redisgn, now flagging it's as Flickr Gamma, replacing the two-tier navigation menu with a single primary menu. Within different sections users are presented with a second level menu.
Also added is an expandable menu on other users avatar photos which provides more options than the previous menu which would appear if you hovered for a few seconds.
Comments
But do you like it? That's what I really want to know...
On first glance, I like it! I would like to see something similar for Comet, so we can reduce all the clutter of links everywhere.
Please! Please? :-)
More thoughts... I would not want to see everything hidden in a menu - only things that are variations of the same thing - like the options for filtering the neighborhood view. It sort of seems like things are somewhat hidden on Flickr when everything is in a menu. I'm sure there is a balance somewhere between the two.
it's ugly, but i'll still take the new menus over the quasi-sitemap as a footer on every page.
I'm not saying if I like it or not yet.
I find the menu's a bit disconcerting and I've accidently clicked on several user photos when I'd meant to trigger the menu. I'm also a bit surprised that there haven't been any improvements to tag display and tag searching in the redesign. Just the other day Nick pointed out it's odd that clicking a tag searches that persons photos, while clicking on the globe in front searches all of Flickr. The only other places I can think which make this same mistake are LiveJournal and Comet until we fixed it.
I actually liked the semi-site-map on the page footer, it's a trend in design I've found really useful for not just getting around, but because it often provides clues to the site structure (and where you're likely going to find what you're looking for). In the redesign they didn't just remove it in favor of simpler navigation, they have a footer organized differenty than the header.
They also use different terminology in different spots. If you visit one of your own photos you'll now see the "View recent comments / Comments you've made" which used to only be on the home page, but then scroll down just a little further and you'll see the first links in the footer are the exact same links. Why the repetition and more importantly why does the link title change to "Activity On Your Photos"?
I think it's better, but the site is still really difficult for the average person to navigate and use. My parents and sisters back in Minneapolis and my 21 year old step-daughter in Colorado have trouble doing basic things on Flickr. I can't wait to show them Comet!