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Less white space? That's the worst thing the already-cluttered YouTube design needs....

Here's what's wrong with Cosmic Panda:

1. The header looks clean and polished, but the category links are "weak" and don't invite the user to click on them. They're normal weight font, only interaction indicator is an underline. Modern web trends have turned navigational elements into button-esque designs to better differentiate them from basic hyperlinks.

2. The video index still looks like a cluttered mess with default hyperlink colors. Google, it's ok to experiment with alternative link styles. I promise it's OK - it's not 1998 anymore! The related videos list in the new details page is excellent. That design language should be used on the home page and other video listings pages.

3. The description and user comments in the video details page still looks like an unstructured mashup of text and links. Adding the "Like" and "Reply" and reply buttons I'm sure is a good call to action, but from my experience it doesn't actually do a good job of converting guests to members. They should be:

A. Hidden until you mouse over the particular comment. There's no need to show them up front when the user simply knows they are there.

B. Should be buttons. Anything that is a FUNCTION should be a BUTTON. Buttons do a far better job of conveying the idea that when you click on them they are going to perform some kind of a function. It differentiates them from hyperlinks which are supposed to link to another piece of content. Functions = buttons, links = text.

C. It's 2011. Many of us have at least 1280 width monitors, if not full 1080p 1920x1080 monitors. There's no reason why the comments column has to be so narrow and cramped. It can be made semi-fluid so that it automatically adjusts to a desired max and min width. Any older browser/smaller screen resolution can be given exceptions. Don't punish people with wide screens and modern browsers.

4. Right now the title is repeated twice on the page, with the first title being awkwardly positioned immediately below the video. The description and title and likes and all that stuff should structurally and visually separated from the comments list. Theres' room for better information display here. An expanded two part footer bar below the video (like what's there now, but with another part to include the title/description & likes etc) would be a good way to consolidate that space and then separate it all from the comments.

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