The recent redesign of the New York Magazine website is a good example of how great user experience can come from design getting out of the way.

While the new aesthetic certainly is a better fit for the magazine, the real success comes from the restructured Information Architecture. This new structure creates a clear visual hierarchy and the three column layout really lets the content breathe. Also, the new navigtation design is much less overbearing and much more intuitive. The main navigation exists in a single bar at the top of the screen, and a sub-navigation appears on rollover. No longer is there a competition between the horizontal and vertical navigation bars like on the old design.

Additionally there is an improved search, and my favorite feature, the Related Articles list that appears at the bottom of your current article. This feature delivers suprisingly accurate results, and because of the magazine's notoriosly long articles, it can have you busy for hours.

And that is the real story here: the content is usually the star of the show. Recognizing that, this new design gets out of the way, and lets that excellent content shine.

Sometimes the key to a pleasent user experience is as much about what the design doesn't do, as what it does do.