Pitchfork, the notoriously snobby music review site, has one main navigation system on the top left that is consistent on every page. The home page has a number of sub categories gridded out on the front page with links to articles in each relevant category. The most recent articles in the news and reviews sections are given priority that is marked by the typography (recent articles are bolder and up at the top of the page). Navigation labels are clear, however, with the exception of the home page. Once you have navigated away from the home page, however, there is no clear label of "home" to navigate back to, and you have to click on the "pitchfork" logo. The hierarchy was probably designed in order to get the user to click on the most recent reviews or news stories. The left navigation remains constant no matter what level you are in on the site, and the highlighted state remains black to indicate what page you are on. The site has pretty shallow architecture- the template is more or less the same on each site. The deepest it goes is from home to the main category to an article in the category. You can't access ANY article within the site at any time, but you can get there pretty quickly. There is also a search feature to help you find past articles, which is pretty useful if you're looking for a specific review.
I'm not a huge fan of the type on most of the site. There's a basic hierarchy apparent in the content where headers are in bold caps, recent articles are in bold large type, and the the other headlines from the day are in small type at the bottom of the page. My two criticisms on type are that the main navigation type is absolutely tiny (9 points?) and that the other headlines that are in the "today's other headlines" section are pretty tiny. The thing that saves the tiny type is that there's rollover on it, so you can tell it's clickable. However, it's smaller than the main body type in the articles (which could use just a touch more leading), which leads you to think that it's not actually clickable.
The colors on the page are grey, blue, and orange. There's no particular reason to it, as far as I can tell, but they separate the content nicely. The navigation bars on the sides are both blue, and the article is white. The minimal colors work pretty well since there are some fairly brightly colored (nasty eighties fashion is in with the hipsters, so eyesores are the best way to sell things to them apparently) advertisements on the top and sides of the page. The images are used effectively within the content though, and images are generally reserved for articles, and are all relevant to the articles. The only icons are the arrows next to the main navigation. The structure of the pages stays pretty consistent, with the left navigation and the white center with content. The focal point is generally indicated by the photographs and typography.
So, the purpose of the site is arguably to validate the opinions of hipsters everywhere. Beyond that, the objective is to allow hipsters (and I guess some normal people?) to access articles about music and other media and to learn about new artists. The search tool is my favorite, as it allows you to search for past articles and reviews about certain artist, and you can refine your search based on films, features, news, and albums. In order to improve the site, I would remove some of the advertisements that clutter up the page, but at the very least, Pitchfork has structured them to be within the tables of the page.