Back to members: the new 9rules

Yesterday saw the launch of the new 9rules. The post announcing it’s launch on the 9rules blog – 9rules vol 3 edition 1 – shows the focus has moved back onto members content and the design reflects this. My first reaction on seeing it was ‘wow’, my second was ‘woot’ and my third was akin to a little girl excited noise just like someone had given me a new toy.

There is really only one thing you need to keep in mind with Volume 3 and that is it features nothing but 9rules Member content. Every piece of content that you come across in every community is from one of our Members. The goal of 9rules is to present some of the best content from around the independent web to people who enjoy that kind of thing. – 9rules vol 3 edition 1

9rules your way

With so much wonderful content appearing before your screen we understand that not everything might pique your interests so we have allowed a bit of customization with regards to what content you see. – 9rules vol 3 edition 1

I love the concept of having customisation through both Chawlk and 9rules. These are separate entities but linked by the one umbrella organisation; members and readers. One of the big draws of 9rules both with member content and readers is the diversity. The social side of notes constantly has diverse topics and opinions which to me is a delight, it is very clear there is a wide range of people interacting with 9rules. The members themselves span such a wide range of blog topics that it really does become a glorious melting pot. Allowing customisation acknowledges the diversity and fact you can now have the content ‘your way’.

Splitting yourself in two isn’t always bad

This version sees a definite division between 9rules and the social side Chawlk. Whilst there are some that argue you have to keep it all under one personality I actually feel this splitting makes sense for many reasons and just one of these is the wealth of content. One of the things that perhaps 9rules suffered from before was in it’s popularity noise and gems could get lost a little. As a member my content is now focused heavily on the 9rules site and as a reader I can interact through Chawlk.

When I first heard of the split it was a light bulb moment, whilst I didn’t feel there was anything fundamentally wrong with 9rules I did feel the boundary between member and reader had blurred a little. With this split there is a move to make it clear what is a member and what is a reader, to me this is not a bad thing. The community aspect that started in notes and in the past version blossomed into a social network hybrid has now got it’s own home in Chawlk.

Anatomy of a design

Whilst this is not a full review of the new design I feel I have to comment on how much I love the use of space and readability of the new design. It to me really is a triumph of passive design that allows the content to be accessed without distracting. 9rules after all should be all about the content – that is not to say this isn’t a wow design as it certainly is. I like the understated and passive use of white space to create a comfortable design that just makes you want to read more. Reading and using the site is a pleasure so you just want to dive in and stay more.

Knowing when less is more

One thing above all becomes clear to me both through the splitting of 9rules and Chawlk and the new design and that is that Scrivs, Mike and Tyme in this version have not only done a lot of ‘wheat from chaff’ clearing, but have also done a lot of self critique. Mike says the following about the design:

The new 9rules is refreshing to me as a 9rules reader because it makes the content more accessible and is right up front. I don’t have to click from the homepage over to the “member entries listing” to find what I want, it’s right there. It sounds obvious, but straight-up usability was the goal from the onset because — dare I say — 9rules.com had been on a usability decline for over a year. – New 9rules design thoughts

This fact that laurels have not been rested on and boundaries constantly pushed along with the braveness that comes from analysing and admitting where could do better; these all amount up to a stronger design in my eyes. The team behind 9rules have listened to the good and bad along with developing their own internal analysis monologue. From this self analysis it has become clear what matters and they have distilled back to their roots. To me, this is a practice we should all be doing.

All grown up?

One thing I feel from this design both as a member and a reader is a maturity of 9rules as an entity. I’m aware in writing this I feel like the old woman of the web and may have to take up knitting. The design to me in it’s understated but ability to keep the wow factor really shows a maturity of design. To me as you progress as a designer you end up taking off along with putting on. One of the problems when you start out is that you have a kitchen sink approach. Whilst I did not feel past versions of 9rules had this, I do feel on seeing this that they indeed had a leaning to information over load compared to this format – I’m having one of those ooo that is better hindsight moments. The clarity of execution and small understated touches used throughout really do bring home to me a maturity of the team behind 9rules as what is 9rules becomes even more clear to me conceptually along with visually. The branding really has gained a refreshing strength.

Raising the bar effects members positively

When I first saw the design one of my first reactions was ‘oh great they raised the bar again… mutter… time to get boot up my bum and get this site worthy of membership’. I’ve been upfront about my problems over the past few months in posting both work and health. This new 9rules has really refreshed me in a time where I’ve grown tunnel vision just getting through days. I’m so proud to have that leaf up with this new direction or should that be return to the old with a twist. All they have done with this version can only positively effect members, it’s always a good thing to raise bars and give people something to raise their own bars in response to.

A thank you from a member

I’d like to take a moment to wrap this up with a thank you to Scrivs, Mike and Tyme for the obvious hard work this version has taken. I always have been a pom-pom brandishing advocate of 9rules but this version has relit a fire in me that was missing for many reasons over the past few months. I feel renewed as a member and excited to be part of the next chapter in 9rules. I’d also like to welcome the new members to 9rules and look forward to the next round bringing more members into the family that is 9rules.