Propeller Redesign. Fail?

I just checked out the new Propeller design, and… Wow, I was a bit shocked. It took a few minutes to comprehend what the hell was going on and I found myself struggling with some of their layout decisions. Not only was I surprised by the radical new layout, I was confused by their new molecule looking logo. What is that thing?

It’s not often that I criticize someone’s work, at least not out loud. I usually keep my thoughts to myself and try to help. But, considering Propeller’s position and popularity I feel the need to share my thoughts and opinions. My intention is not to thrash their new design, which some of their more frequent users have already done, but to admit a few things I actually like.

I appreciate the little illustrated guy. He seems kind of fun with his little propeller hat. If only he spoke and told me how to get around the darn site! I like some of the larger text used throughout the site, although I felt a bit claustrophobic reading the headlines on the homepage. I wonder if anyone on the Propeller design team considered a liquid layout? Also, the large numbers are a bit distracting for me and it took a few seconds for my eyes to find the headlines. I would just rather assume that if it’s on the homepage it’s hot news.

The bottom line is that I found myself thinking way too much and spent a lot of time searching for navigation. If they plan to continue to compete against Digg, Reddit and others they may want to listen to their users.