An ambitious challenge if ever there was one. I set myself the task of re-creating the BBC News Web site.

My first point would be that I don’t want to create something that is completely different. I just wanted to do something that, had I been asked to re-create the site, would make an impression.

The BBC News Web site is one of the most important sites in the country and indeed the World. Being given the task of re-designing such an important Web site is not something that I could have done without unenviable panic first!

But, it’s no secret that when the BBC re-vamped the News Web site, there were just as many people who didn’t like it as there were who did. I, however, was torn.

I hated the fact that they introduced two mastheads for one, because it pushed way too much content below the fold. But that’s obviously not going to change as it is part of a wider design for the entire network of BBC sites, so I’ve made my peace with it.

Besides a few other niggling little points, such as the busy mid-section, I love how clean and more effective it is now compared with the older version.

With my design, I aimed to put a couple of improvements onto that. I’ve taken most of the ideas from the current design and simply put it in a slightly different way. A lot is the same; too radical a change would certainly upset the millions of people who visit the site.

Later I’ll be posting a point-by-point explanation of my design but, for now, I just want to push it out there and see what people think.

Do you like it? Do you hate it? Most importantly, what would YOU do to improve my design, or the BBC’s current design?

Click the image above to view the full-sized visual.

Later, I’ll also be posting the PSD and Fireworks PNG so people can take it away and edit it the way they’d like. Maybe you’ve made one already… Care to post it here? I’d love to see other ideas too!