The home page has a top navigation bar, linked body text, four categories with subheader links, and at the bottom, a very basic set of links that can help you navigate nearly anywhere on the site. The organization is clear and simple, and the site's purpose as a social networking site is also clear. The first links on the site link you to either an artist, or the people listening to that artist. The top and bottom navigation continue on each page, including second and third level navigation pages.
Navigational links appear in different colors or in diferent boxes or in different type. You don't always know where you are in the site in terms of hierarchy, but all of the sections are clearly labeled, and you can always navigate elsewhere. The link doesn't change once clicked on, but on the third tier navigation, there are tabs on the left hand side that indicate where you are. You are absolutely never at a point where you cannot get back to the home page, or, if you log in, to your profie. The site has deep architecture, as you can access different pages based on whether you have a profile or not.
My only complaint about th typography of the site is the links on the front page. The links are the black text, while the plain text is red. Even though the black text has a rollover that underlines it, it's still counterintuitive, and you try to click on the red before. Basic techniques of size, color, and weight are used to make links more prominent/suboordinate. Navigational labels are clear, as they are to the side or to the top of each page, sometimes both. The grid from one page to another changes, however. The grid remains constant on the types of pages, like artist pages, perosnal profiles, or the second tier pages for "Videos" or "Events." Within the categories, however, the grid is very consistent. There aren't really any parts of the page that are the same category but differ from each other, and each page has a focal point that is an image near the top. The images are usually used to identify artists and user profiles. They mainly add to the color of the site, and make it very visual and dynamic, and are pretty logical. Icons are used sparingly, but make sense when used (like the calendar icon), and are very literal. The color palette is pretty exclusively red and white, with a few shades of light grey. Red is generally used for the top navigation bar and a few of the links, as well as some text in navigation bars that show up. The greys and whites seem to dominate the main page, separating content by creating boxes. The colors were likely chosen because they are clean and inoffensive, and red is eyecatching. The Last.fm logo is done in red and white.The objective of the site is to be a social networking site that centers around music. Users can send messages, look at pages of different musicians, and as of a few months ago, can buy a membership that allows them to listen to all songs unlimited times on the website's artist pages. Non-paying members can only listen to a certain song three times before they have to pay. You can search for music and other members, and similar artists to the ones you like. There is very little that is confusing about the site- it is cleanly laid out, and very user-friendly. The only thing I would change is the home page. I think the design, particuarly the typography, is lacking. The large white space at the top is not ideal.
