If you've taken a peek at our frontpage, you've probably noticed that things are, well ... different.

After roughly a year with the same site design, we decided to tweak some things.

The type and quantity of content we produce every day has changed a lot since our last redesign (for the better in almost every instance, I think).

We've got staff writers covering public health, education, labor and housing, as well as dozens of volunteer neighborhood reporters. And the strength of our photography grows every day.

The redesign is aimed at highlighting those things.

So, on the new front page you'll find:

• A space for a compelling story and photo in the top left corner. This will usually be a standout feature article, investigative piece, or just an exceptionally strong story with good visuals to match.
• A spot for us to showcase three other strong stories. Most of these will have accompanying photos.
•  A new section featuring blogs written by our reporters. For awhile now I've felt that the traditional news story format isn't especially well-suited to the web. It's a static summing up of what we know at a given point in time. In reality, reporting is dynamic, and we hope to use the blogs to involve readers more in that process. We'll be publishing short updates as stories gel, and asking for our audience to chime in with reaction and tips throughout that process. We think it'll be more lively and interesting in many cases.
• A new section to showcase work that focuses on specific Chicago communities. This will be the spot to check for the best work from our fantastic crew of volunteer neighborhood reporters.

As with any redesign, something will inevitably go awry. Don't hesitate to tell us about that, or just let us know what you think of the new look. Send e-mails to geoff at chitowndailynews dot org.