Conveying their Business Objective
Does YouTube, a digital video hosting website, convey their objective of hosting videos on their homepage? Considering the name "YouTube" is nearly synonymous "internet videos", I'd say they do a fine job at conveying their objective. In the above image, it very clear that videos are the main objective of this page.
Strong Grid
YouTube is almost entirely laid out in a grid shape. Considering the goal of this site is to consume content, the whole page is arranged with video thumbnails, after thumbnails, after thumbnails. Since all the thumbnails are rectangular boxes, it would only make sense to lay them out in a grid shape. Even the comment section, with its reverse chronological order, is laid out in a grid.
Image/Text Relationship
According to Rutledge's axioms, "the lower right is the most effective position for a large image on a text-filled page." Considering that YouTube doesn't necessarily have a text filled page, this axiom is not exactly applicable. However, since there are a literal ton(s) of videos on the site, all of which have images and text, I think it would only be fair to analyze those. I'll be the first to admit that the image/text relationship of YouTube is a bit underwhelming and, in a way, lackluster. There is already so much information to take in while browsing the site, yet, it makes it more difficult when there is tiny blue text that looks nearly indistinguishable from the last video. Honestly, though, it would be difficult to imagine it any other way, so I suppose it passes.
Directing through Angles
Well, I suppose YouTube isn't necessarily great at this either. Unless we're talking about right angles, YouTube doesn't exactly have a dynamic layout. I will say I find that appropriate considering you're not exactly there to learn about a new product or service. I mean, YouTube isn't trying to sell you on anything other than watching videos, and the videos are where all the creativity lies. The site isn't exactly visually stimulating either, but it does what it needs to.
User Friendliness
Here is something YouTube does great. YouTube is to trivial videos as Google is to trivial information. Considering Google owns YouTube, that only makes sense. When anybody (and I realize that's a generalization, but really, ANYBODY) wants to find a video, they go through YouTube (or Google to YouTube) and search whatever it is they're looking for. As the above image shows, the very top of the page is a search bar awaiting input. Literally, as soon as the page loads the bar is primed for search, which is appropriate considering it's the second largest, and technically most popular, search engine in the world. Anyone and their grandma could figure out YouTube in a matter of seconds.
Points of Interest at Points of Contrast
YouTube does this easily since their whole site is plain white, with some red sprinkled about. Any thumbnail that isn't the same value of white is going to stand out. That's where the importance of thumbnails comes into play, but that's left up to the creator to figure out. YouTube attracts viewers to videos by the simple fact that the videos are the only thing on their blank white canvas.
Easy on the Eyes = Ease of Use
Humans like patterns and symmetry, and at any given point, somewhere on YouTube has at least on of those. Thumbnails are often laid out in a grid-like pattern, organized by categories that remain in familiar places. The site may not be gorgeous, but it definitely isn't ugly. It doesn't have the most vibrant colors or most beautiful artwork, but it does keep it simple. Its simplicity definitely aids the site in its ease of use.
Mobile Friendly
Finally, does YouTube hold up on a smartphone? Going back to 2007 with the launch of the first iPhone, YouTube had a dedicated app built into the phone. Since then, they've had nearly a decade to perfect mobile viewing, and have come a long way with intuitive design and utilizing gestures to perfect the ease of use on smartphones. I've used the app on both Android and iOS operating systems for many months and I can say with utmost certainty that YouTube knows how to make a clean looking and easy to use app. The site is definitely mobile friendly and does a fine job with the mobile market.
All in all, YouTube certainly does what it needs to. It may not be award winning or an experience like no other, however, it definitely gets the job done effectively with simplicity and intuitive design.
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