AOL Unveils New Design, Declares Independence with...P. Diddy

AOL celebrated its independence from ex-parent company Time Warner last night on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. P. Diddy was there too, In what was either a bid for most random celebrity guest or company commiseration with something else that hasn't seemed particularly relevant since 1998.

The jury is out on the new look over at AOL. Wolff Olins, the design team behind the makeover, obviously realized that web users need to feel personally engaged with their content nowadays, so the top bar of the homepage allows visitors to quickly choose from a respectable range of color themes. The avatars denoting the themes make a little less sense, ranging from an octopus to a cassette tape to what appears to be a reject from a Where The Wild Things Are casting call.

Another new feature of the site will be exclusive video content. Everyone seems to be hyping videos these days. Anyway, take a look for yourself. While your mother might be the only person you know who still logs on to AOL to check her email, the main site, in our opinion, is looking pretty spiffy.

(Photos by JT White for PMC).

Anna Wintour                                  Harry Connick Jr