National Geographic’s Online Platform Really Sets An Adventurous Mood
National Geographic is one of the world’s most respected travel magazines with their stunning images and captivating stories. Now they can add web design to that list.
National Geographic first began as National Geographic Magazine and began publication in 1888. The first magazine was published nine months after the official National Geographic Society was created. This popular magazine first began as a publication that focused strictly on science, geography, history and culture.
Today, this brand still holds strong to its roots. It delves into the intricate elements of the natural world.
This science-focused brand is known for its stunning photography and impactful coverage of world events and culture.
National Geographic’s Captivating Web Design Promotes User-Friendly Navigation Though Movement And Imagery
From clear CTAs to a sophisticated and clean layout, the National Geographic website design is one that stands the test of time.
You’re greeted immediately on the homepage with a very nice and clean layout. This informative website puts its content — their stunning photography — center stage. It’s visually eye-catching and guides you along your journey.
There’s a heavy emphasis on geometric shapes in their organization, imagery and content layout. Plus, there is a consistency throughout the website that makes the user experience seamless. The iconic yellow rectangle of the logo is seen throughout this moody design — yellow lines, yellow font and yellow accents litter the site in an engaging and simple way that helps guide you.
Parallax scrolling adds an interactivity and motion that reels you in, and slight rollover effects bring your attention to the imagery without taking away from the photographs.
Moving from page to page is easy with clear CTAs, and there is no friction caused when moving around.
The photographs are impactful, but so is the video.
Clicking on these videos, you’re not distracted with a new tab. It’s more like a pop-up. And there’s an intuitive quality to these as well. You can share, embed, watch and exit with ease.
Overall, this design creates a fluid user experience that can’t be ignored.
National Geographic’s Platform Plays With Color To Create A Design That Evokes Emotion
Color really puts you in the mood when it comes to this website design.
The background is a dark and moody black that adds a mystery and sophistication to the website as a whole. The color yellow can be seen everywhere, acting as a tour guide that brings you from place to place and photograph to photograph.
This is a crafty tool that further emphasizes the brand’s dedication to consistency and legacy.
There are geometric, semi-transparent dark overlays on images and copy that are subtle and strong. They draw your eye to the content without distracting you from it.
The colors contrast beautifully to create a mood and an overall experience that puts you at ease and intrigues you. You can’t help but look through the many tabs like Photo Of The Day and more.
National Geographic’s Long List Of Additional Sites Adds More Sophistication And Authenticity To The Brand
The “Around the World in 24 Hours” website — an additional site on the National Geographic website — employs a captivating user interface, not with video or content, but a photographic lens. It’s a simplistic, full-screen site that draws in users and uses the digital photography as a way to entice the reader, leaving them desiring to know more.
It’s provocative, structurally sound, and imaginative. The overall site is playful, informative, and visual, thanks in part to the advanced CSS and Javascript applications. The site captures the user with photography and draws on an inquisitive headspace to encourage other parts of Nat Geo’s website.
Every page on the site is functional and easy to navigate. On the top right corner, there’s a square clickable black box that hyperlinks to the picture gallery. The gallery is a 6X4 grid that features every picture in the segment in order of the full-screen scroll.
Users can click on any photo and be brought to its respective page. The gallery has no content and only plays on the visual aesthetic of the viewer. It also cuts scrolling time for visitors who are only passing through. Each high-resolution still was intentional as they’re full of colors and draws attention to the full-screen page and subtly enforces user experience.
The single page site operates on a parallax scroll which gives a full, open view of the still. The top menu gives users the ability to share the photo or website via email or social media, which is a great way to garner foot traffic. The recognizable logo sits directly on top of the photo in the left corner and hyperlinks to the National Geographic website.
The content is minimal on the destination pages and utilizes a bold typography for the timestamp and title and small font explaining the photograph. The content is hardly noticeable, however, the single-lined white clock quickly grabs the viewer’s attention.
At the end of the site, National Geographic, adds a “You Might Also Like” section, suggesting to viewers that based on their page visit, they might be interested in other articles on the main webpage. The bottom menu has subtle call to actions such as a subscription option, signing up for exclusive newsletters, or following the magazine on social media. Here, the design incorporates heavy search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO).
The “Around the World in 24 Hours” site has helped National Geographic make a unilateral move into the digital era while maintaining its integrity in still photography. The graphics are stunning which only illuminates what the world already knows, that Nat Geo is a visual king.
The National Geographic Website Is Imaginative, Exciting And Stunning
National Geographic’s stunning website design is moody, consistent and seamless. Navigation is flawless, colors are emotion-evoking, and the imagery really stands on its own.
The creators of this website wanted to promote the brand and its long history of excellence and authenticity. You can see this in their unrelenting dedication to using stunning imagery and impactful journalism.
Parallax scrolling, consistent and subtle branding in the form of the color yellow, and clear CTAs make going from content to content a walk in the park.
This website design incorporates sophisticated design elements that truly steal the show.
