My first impression of unsung is that it was just…busy. At the base is the unsung logo background, and over top is layered a very blocked out collection of tables and graphics. The unsung logo in the tables blinks, which is very distracting. I didn’t know if I’d be able to concentrate on reading the entries, and worried that the site was all graphic, no content.
Fortunately, the writer does actually write. Dag, the writer, is mildly obsessed with the Sabres and blogs often about programming miscellania. In addition, Dag writes about his daily life and current events. Most of his entries are fairly short, and I’m left wishing he’d write a little more about what he’s going through.
It does take some clicking to get to any blog content at unsung. First, you have to get past the flash page, and then you have to read the introduction provided in order to figure out where you’re going. Of course, I found the introduction unnecessary since the site navigation links are located at the top of the page, and again just under the logo. My suggestion is to lose the introduction on the index page and have actual blog content there instead. Dag already has an About Me page, which is pretty informative. All of the links work and the only thing, other than just the general busy-ness of the design, I can complain about are the occasional spelling and grammatical errors. There isn’t anything too offensive, but they’re definitely noticeable.
There are more extras at unsung than I could name – 2 guestbooks, shoutbox, guestmap, word of the day, chat forum, Sabres schedule, lyrics section, a section of links useful for programming, Dag’s design/programming portfolio, little Emoticons in all of the blog entries, links galore, and a page specifically for humor. I visit a blog for the blog content, but others may find all of this more useful.
Unless Dag simplifies his design somewhat, I doubt I would become a regular reader. Normally design would not deter me from reading, but the flashing logo gave me a headache. Overall, it’s a solid blog.