It may not come as a huge surprise but LinkedIn’s new company pages aren’t exactly the most inspiring brand hubs available on the web.
To be fair, LinkedIn’s stated intention was to simplify the LinkedIn experience rather than revolutionise it. I think the company recognised that some of the pages on its website were confusing and unpleasant to use, so it’s good to see that they have attempted to address this issue.
However, like with much of the site since its simplification redesigns started rolling out (the homepage was overhauled back in July), we are left with a fairly staid proposition.
Yes, LinkedIn’s corporate image means it is never going to be the social media brand pushing the boundaries. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t try something a little more inspiring.
The blog announcing the redesign highlighted pages from launch partners including Philips, Citi, HP and Dell.
A brief examination of these pages reveals an underwhelming redesign. There is a new cover image at the top, and some of the info boxes have been moved around a bit. There are lots of straight lines and it looks neater. In a way, LinkedIn has finally managed to replicate the standard designs presented by some of its competitors. There’s still quite a lot of stuff crammed on though.
It must be quite tough for the multi-focus social media brands such as Facebook and LinkedIn to retain an image as being forward-thinking. These sites are huge. And they are trying to be all things to all men, women and companies.
Their size, lack of focus and the fact they have to kowtow to both users and sponsors at the same time must make it very difficult for the designers to come up with inspiring designs. Give me a more streamlined social media experience any day.
What do you think of the new LinkedIn company pages?
