Site Critique: Brass Goggles

http://brassgoggles.co.uk/brassgoggles/

Brass Goggles is a blog dedicated to the "lighter side of Steampunk." The entries can be about anything which pertains to this aesthetic - from modified umbrellas, to retro-futuristic space travel posters, to "Repo! The Genetic Opera." I wanted to see how one of the web's foremost Steampunk resources uses the aesthetic in its site.

The layout grid is visibly blog-like and stays the same on every page. Entries display on the left, most recent at the top. Links are on a column to the right. Since the site is a blog, the architecture is deep but narrow. Users go further and further back in time, away from the home page, but the pages must be accessed in a linear fashion. However, the sidebar makes browsing considerably more efficient because it organizes entries in alternative ways, ordered by likelihood of use. For example, viewers are more likely to browse entries by tag topic than by date posted. The search function is particularly useful because it compares the search string to entry content instead of just tags. Searching is essential to managing so much information. Also convenient, the site has anchored links for vertical navigation on a single page.

When you go to an individual entry, the right navigation disappears when on expanded entries. However, to compensate for this, chronological back and forth navigation appears. On the positive side, users can then comment on individual entries, allowing for networking, a crucial aspect when maintaining a subculture website. These comments only appear on the pages with individual entries in order to save screen real estate. On the negative side, sometimes comments cannot be posted although other people have posted before you.



True to its motto, Brass Goggles takes its color scheme from Steampunk without being dark. The background is warm sienna brown, highlighted by gold. The titular Brass is a key material in Steampunk technology. Thin lines and shades are used to distinguish content. Any image juts from the monochrome and becomes an immediate focal point of that entry. Disappointingly, the site has no logo which makes the header awkwardly bare. It would benefit from some stronger texture or imagery which does not compete with the entry images. The typography, although it smacks of "default font," is clear and easy to read due to its lighter color. Headers are larger but faded, and sidebar links are colored. However, within entries, links do not differ much from copy which can lead to their being ignored. When the user hovers over or clicks a link, it underlines. However, there is no visited state, which is useful when browsing entry-based collections of information.

Brass Goggles is a site which uses Steampunk colors effectively within traditional blog design, but it could further tailor its look via textures and detail treatments. It does not take me back to the Victorian era yet.